Linden Cemetery has storied history
Linden Cemetery—one of the best-maintained in the county—has a striking statement carved into its stone entryway marker.
“Open Sunrise. Close Sunset.”
The cemetery rests on top of a hill with a wide gate to enter and has several well-designed signs giving information that everyone coming inside should know.
According to county cemetery researcher Charles Steger, Linden’s community asset is well-supported financially.
But that doesn’t mean the cemetery has all it needs and everything in hand.
Just recently, Steger and Paul Ridenour from Dallas were experimenting with the new chemical called “D2” that, when applied, can restore dingy, darkened marker stones made of marble to their shining, bright original state.
One sprays it on the mold, moss and algae—preferably during hot days of summer— and wait several more days for the wind and rain to help.
Before long the stone is clean again and more acceptable to viewing and understanding.
In addition, a recent discovery found that an old portion of the cemetery just outside the fence was likely an early black cemetery called the Macedonia burial site. Steger and others consider it also to have been a slave burial ground.
“There are several in the county. Some found, some not, and often associated with other cemeteries. Cemeteries often have a portion off to one side. These may be people buried not with the others but close to,” Steger said.
Several weeks ago, while some community members were cleaning around the historic old fire station in preparation for its restoration, others were out at the cemetery chopping limbs and mowing grass at the Macedonia site to reveal the slave markers.
Some of the locations were little more than depressions in the ground
Steger smiles when being told of this “lost” graveyard. It wasn’t really, he said.
“We listed in it 1996 when the Cass County Genealogical Society was reading and recording all cemeteries in the county,” he said.
“It was once called the Linden No. 2 cemetery. Still, you can tell little has been done to care for it any longer. It’s all overgrown.”
Steger and Ridenour were here this day to photograph and record the Macedonia markers to put them on an Internet research site called “Find A Grave.”
This is an online site being compiled by volunteers to record and picture all grave markers online for all to easily find and see.
The search site is free.
“We found almost everything I knew was there from the survey 1996. One of two veterans, Willie Pruitt, we found, but one of a Sheppard we did not. I intend to find it,” Steger said.
With regard to restoring the surface of burial markers, Steger and Ridenour had treated one of a family’s two burial markers with the D2 chemical for comparison. The two were the stones of Judge Henry O’Neal and wife. And the one treated was much whiter and brighter.
“We are especially interested in Civil War markers,” said Ridenour, who also takes an interest in photographing Indian burial sites.
Ridenour said the D2 works on marble but not as well on granite.
For that, a chemical called Nu-Stone is helpful.