Antioch Cemetery and Church

Sometime before 1871 the Antioch Cemetery was established two-and-one-half miles north and one mile east of the old State Hospital. The first grave was that of Bertie Brown, who died on Oct. 8, 1871.

Nevertheless, the deed for the original 2.2 acres for the Antioch Church and Cemetery was not recorded and signed until Oct. 14, 1899. W.C. and Sarah Fry gave this land for the purpose of a church and cemetery for the sum of $1. The Antioch Church had been organized on Feb. 13, 1873, at the East Washington School building about the distance of a mile west, across the road from where the church and cemetery now stand.

Many of the same families were involved in the establishment of the church as the cemetery. These included the Frys mentioned earlier, the Judge J.H. Caton family, the Pryor Logan, Fuller, and the Theodore Douglas Bush families. The great-grandparents of Margaret Shumaker, Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Myers, were also among the founders and Margaret is now secretary of the Cemetery Association.

The first church structure was 30 feet by 44 feet, and cost $792.60 to build in 1893. The congregation had raised $757 before the building process began.

The ends of the 24 pews that are still being used in the church today cost 10 cents each for the 48 ends that were needed. The steeple for the church cost an additional $31.50 and the plastering and chimney cost $80.40.

The church continued with services until 1950 when it disbanded for a time. In 1959 it was reopened by the American Sunday School Union and was called the Antioch Missionary Fellowship. The church is now the Antioch Christian Church and during the 1980s and 1990s the plaster was removed and replaced with sheetrock and more facilities, wiring and carpeting was added.

Through all this time the cemetery was being used and cared for. In 1973 land was purchased by Mrs. Lulu Margaret (Myers) Kircher for $300 and immediately donated to the cemetery for use as more burial ground. The early records show that the lots were sold for $5 and had four spaces.

Today the lots cost $180 for a full lot. Ten percent goes to the Perpetual Care Fund and the rest is for the Cemetery Maintenance Fund.

The Association now requires graves to be marked with a permanent engraved headstone as some of the early graves had metal frames nailed in the ground. These have disintegrated and the information is lost about the deceased.

The Association members have asked anyone who has information about any of the early, unmarked graves to contact some of the present officers of the Association. These are: President, Gary Rose; Vice-President, Clarissa L. McBride; Secretary, Margaret E Shumaker; Treasurer, Leon Shumaker; and Board members, Bob Wingate, Harold Shumaker, Sr., Del Armstrong, Rick Kennedy; and Financial Advisor, Ted Bush.

The Perpetual Care Fund was started in 1986 by a $10,000 grant from Georgia Faye Bush. She wanted to make sure there were sufficient funds to maintain the cemetery on a perpetual basis. She knew this would not be enough but hoped others would also contribute.

There have been others who have added to the fund but the Association is still asking for more Endowment Funds.

The board members can give details about how this can be done.