Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State

Here are a few historic cemeteries that aren't necessarily haunted, yet I find fascinating, both for their history, and their beauty.  Please click on the photos in the left top corners for more photos, and check back often for new entries!

Coming soon:

Scary Cemetery 

Pioneer Cemetery

Old Stone Church Cemetery

 Soule Chapel Cemetery is a small, rural cemetery adjacent to an 1849 white clapboard church.  It is located in the Meadow Bluff region of Greenbrier County, off of the old Kanawha Turnpike.  The church was named after an early Methodist circuit-rider who helped establish it.

While seemingly innocuous enough, this little church cemetery with graves going back to the mid-1800s, will forever be known for being the final resting place of Elva Zona Heaster-Shue...The Greenbrier Ghost.

Zona was buried here in an unmarked grave on January 25, 1897, two days after she passed away.  She was later reinterred after being exhumed for an autopsy.  She is buried beside her parents, and her grave is now marked with a modern granite tombstone.  The money for the tombstone was raised by the church's congregation, and put into place in 1979.

Today, the cemetery is visited frequently by those seeking out the Greenbrier Ghost.  The grounds of the cemetery are well maintained, but many of the older tombstones are in various states of disrepair.  The grave of Mary Jane Heaster, Zona's mother, is one such grave that has fallen victim to the ravages of time, and has fallen off its base.

Click the photo to see more shots from Soule Chapel Cemetery!

In early May, 1862, Union troops under the supervision of Colonel George Crook were camped on the present day site of Carnegie Hall, overlooking Lewisburg's downtown historic district.  The 3rd Provisional Ohio Brigade, who was there as a part of the campaign to cut off railroad communication between Tennessee and Virginia, consisted of members of the 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 44th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, part of the 2nd (West) Virginia Cavalry, and two mountain howitzers. 

On the morning of May 23rd,  Confederate troops under the command of Gen. Henry Heth advanced from the east.  2300 men from the 22nd Va. Infantry, 45th Va. Infantry, a detachment of the 8th Va. Cavalry (dismounted), and two untrained militia battalions under Lt. Col. William Finney and Major George Edgar opened fire at 5am from atop the ridge that now holds the cemetery. 

The Ohio Brigade charged...sending infantry down both the left and right, and the cavalry to charge down the middle.  After the left side fell first, the Confederate's middle was wide open, and they made a hasty retreat across the Greenbrier River, burning the bridge behind them.  The battle only lasted a little over an hour, and it is said that Heth blamed the untrained militia units, and a lack of artillery on the defeat.  

While lasting only a little over an hour, thirteen Federals were killed, with another 53 wounded, and seven missing.  The Confederates lost 80, while another 100 were wounded, and 157 were captured. 

The nearby Old Stone Presbyterian Church was used as an emergency hospital during the battle, for both Union and Confederate forces.  Following the battle, the unclaimed dead Confederates were laid out in front of the church, later being buried along a trench on church/cemetery property, because Crook refused to allow the southern sympathizers to bury their dead.  

It wasn't until after the war, approximately 1870, when the victims of the Battle of Lewisburg were joined by several unclaimed Confederate dead from the Battle of Droop Mountain (Nov. 6, 1863) and reinterred in a mass grave up the hill from the Old Stone Church, along the same ridge where they had suffered their defeat.  

The mass grave is marked by an earthen mound in the shape of the Christian cross.  The cross measures 80x40 feet, is approximately 10 feet wide, and raises about three feet high.  It contains the remains of 95 unknown soldiers, many of whom died in the Battle of Lewisburg.  The head of the cross is marked with a commemorative plaque, erected in 1956 by the Federal government, and three individual graves are located on the small property...the graves of Captain J.W. Brannam and Col. Mordecia Halstead flank the left upper corner of the cross, while the grave of J.W. Rogers sits alone on the right.

The site is now listed on the National Register of Historic places, and is featured on the Civil War Discovery Trail.  It is noted as being one of the largest Confederate only cemeteries in West Virginia, but also as the only cemetery of its kind in the state to utilize such a unique landscaping feature.  Foot traffic can reach the cemetery along a walking path from Maple Street, while the cemetery can be reached by car along McElhanny Road.  

Throughout the 1960s, J.L. Bowling of St. Albans would make metal boxes, which he would give to friends and acquaintances to use as caskets when they had a pet pass away.  After the encouragement of two area teachers, Bowling decided to expand this work, and open a pet cemetery.  In 1967, Bowling purchased 45 acres off of Rt. 34 in Teays Valley for use as a pet cemetery.

Today, that cemetery is the final resting place to over 40,000 pets, including a bear, two of former Governor Arch Moore's pets, and the many animals that were lost in a tragic pet store fire in Milton in the 1980s.

The cemetery is also the final resting place for humans.  Although the adjacent Teays Valley Memorial Gardens is set aside for human burials, several humans have chosen to be buried on the pet cemetery side, among their beloved pets.  One such person is Bowling's wife, who is buried among the couple's 14 dalmatians.

Howard Hunter currently manages the business, which is still busy with pet burials, being the only cemetery of its kind in the area.  Burials start at $43.10, and markers and urns cost from $5 and up, depending on how elaborate.  Small pets, such as fish, hamsters, and gerbils owned by children are buried for free.

There is also a viewing room, and clergy members are welcome to come and preside over services.   As a child, this place always creeped me out...I'm a product of the Stephen King generation...that's my excuse!  However, the grounds are an extremely peaceful setting, and the staff is compassionate and caring.  The landscape is dotted with the many memorials, statues of animals, and statues of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.

Newspaper Article

Newspaper Article

 The old Barboursville Cemetery officially dates back to around October 25, 1833, when the first of two tracts of land were given to the town by the Methodist Episcopal Church for use as a school and church.  The second portion was deeded over on July 2, 1838.  Shortly after, the idea for a school and church were scrapped in order to use the land as a cemetery.

The first recorded burial is said to be that of Marie TC Gardner on April 17, 1854.  While this is said to be the first official burial, there is reason to believe that the land had been used as a cemetery as early as 1812, one year before the town of Barboursville was established.  The first grave, believed to be dated about 1812, is said to belong to a member of the Dusenberry family.  Further evidence of the land being used as a cemetery was apparent when the remnants of old, unmarked graves were discovered while digging the newer graves. 

There are also at least 30 slave burial sites in this older area of the cemetery.  The sites were marked with a small foot stone bearing the deceased's initials, but those foot stones have long been removed.

In 1844, the Methodist Church became divided over the issues of slavery, and by the end of the Civil War, the Methodist Episcopal Church was no longer in Barboursville, and most of the original trustees had died out.  As a result, this part of the cemetery became severely neglected.

In 1897, the newer portion of the cemetery began taking burials, and eventually would become the final resting place of many of Barboursville's early prominent families, including the Bumgardners, the Gardners, the Merritt's, the Thornburgs, and many others.  Alvin Davis, a Cabell County representative for the House of Delegates, is also buried here.

By 1950, the entire cemetery was once again in disarray.  The city agreed to take over the deed and take care of it, dubbing it "Old Barboursville Cemetery."  

Huntington Paranormal did a short training investigation at this location in late 2008, and while no evidence was obtained or personal experiences observed, there was one grave in particular that seemed to draw us. 

The grave of Ronald Harshbarger stood in a small fenced off section with several other graves,none of which were family. The grave had sunken in considerably.  After an EVP session at the grave, I went home to do some research on Mr. Harshbarger.  Unfortunately, not much info was available online.  Ronald was born in Barboursville on March 14, 1908, the son of Joseph George and Nellie Harshbarger.  He was married to Mary Gale Housand around 1927 in Kentucky, and together with her, had four children: 1. Mary Frances 2. William Ronald 3. Dennison 4. Jeanine Marie.  Ronald died in Columbus, Ohio on August 25, 1944, and was brought home to Barboursville for burial.  His wife married his brother Elmer, a widower, four years later, and had two more children.

 Ronald's Grave

Please click the top photo for more pictures of this fascinating and historical cemetery!

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