WEST CHESTER TOWNSHIP
8
HIDDEN WEST CHESTER
HISTORY
Uncovering History at Dimmick Road Cemetery is Project for Student Intern
C
emeteries tell the history of communities and a small church cemetery, once part of the Presbyterian Society of Pisgah, has many stories to tell. Known as the Dimmick Road Cemetery, this small plot of land was once home to the brick meeting house of the Presbyterian Society and remains the burial place for about 145 of our community founders. Family names like Irwin, Lowes and Skinner are prevalent in the cemetery and many of those buried here were born before or during the American Revolution. Brittany Corwin, a junior at Miami University, is working to unravel the stories of those buried in the cemetery and take action to repair and upright many of the headstones. No formal record of burials on the property is known, but Brittany has been working to piece the details together using resources from local historical societies.
“I would hope to one day see the cemetery looking like it once did, but that will be a real challenge; and maybe write a book about the cemetery,” Brittany shared. The property was sold to the church in 1827 by James Irwin and his wife Agnes, but the property was likely already in use as a family burial plot. The earliest death date (recorded in Virginia Shewalter’s History of Union Township) was 1818 for the death of nine-month-old Lucinda Skinner. It is believed the last date recorded for burial in the cemetery is 1900. Brittany has worked to unearth some of the headstones, but many more have become buried beneath the surface of the ground and will require further excavation to uncover them safely. If you have information about the Dimmick Road Cemetery, please email bwilson@westchesteroh.org
