Ward - Dennis - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

The Old Town Cemetery

The Bones of Many Early Residents Being Brought to Light After Years of Peaceful Rest

Yesterday afternoon a representative of The Journal strolled out to the Old Town Cemetery and noticed the work of the resurrection and re-interment of the remains of many of Crawfordsville’s oldest citizens. The north sixty feet of the cemetery from east to west is to be vacated and utilized as a road and the work of re-interment has been in progress now for several days. Each body (only a few bones remain of most) when resurrected is placed in a small unplanned and unpainted oak box of about 1 x 2 feet and re-interred in a part of the cemetery not vacated, unless, perchance, some relative of the dead person remains who manifests enough interest to have the bones carried to some other and more reputable burying ground.

Large numbers of people visit the scene of the work daily and display the curiosity and inquisitiveness incident to lovers of such uncanny work. There are several workmen employed under the contractor, Jere Carver, and J. H. Cook superintends the work and keeps the books. The cemetery has not been used for a burying ground for a number of years and is rankly overgrown with brush and trees. The roots of these have in many instances penetrated to the coffins of the dead and gathered nourishment. In a number of cases the bones were found encased in a network of roots. In nearly every instance the coffins have disappeared, leaving only a little wood rot to show that they had ever been employed. The few yellow remaining bones of the deceased are picked carefully up, however, and deposited in the boxes prepared for them. The portion of the cemetery vacated is the most densely populated of the little city of the dead and yesterday afternoon sixty two bodies had been taken up, with as many more remaining.

Yesterday afternoon the bodies of John Conners and his little grandson, Dennis Ward Jr., were taken from adjacent graves after a sleep of twenty years. Only a few bones remained but, strangely enough, the little boy’s skull was perfect and covered with hair in which the parting was still clear. The bones of both were placed in one box and taken away by Dennis Ward Sr.