The OES visited Stevenson Cemetery on July 30, 2007. Established in 1815, this cemetery has at least ten recorded burials, but there are probably many more that were unmarked and unrecorded. No tombstones remained in the cemetery, but there was a foot marker for John Stevenson, who served as a captain in the Revolutionary War. Captain Stevenson and his family moved to this location in 1805 and held the area’s first Christian meetings at his home in 1806. The congregation went on to form the Asbury United Methodist Church. According to records the oldest burial at the cemetery was Rebeccah Dirrick, who died in 1816 at 23 years of age. The last recorded burial was Richard Stevenson, who died in 1875 at the age of 55 years. A local Boy Scout troop had just finished erecting a new fence around the cemetery, now on Metro Park property, on the day we visited. A Metro Parks Ranger informed us that all of the gravestones were either broken or illegible so they were removed to the park’s shop. He told us the cemetery will be undergoing some type of restoration, which could include new replacement markers. Hopefully this will be done so those who are interred at this old burying ground are not forgotten entirely.
Location Information: Inactive Cemetery [Safe]
Stevenson Cemetery is located behind the Stevenson Homestead site, just west of Claremorris Street in Columbus; Franklin County.
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