Concerned Citizens Begin Restoration of North-side ‘Garrison-McKay’ Cemetery Dating to Early 1800s

Recently a group of local-history-minded citizens gathered to clean up what they believe to be a historically significant county cemetery they call “The Garrison-McKay Cemetery” from some of the grave site names discovered. The location is a bit north of Guard Hill Road and northwest across Route 522 North from the Crooked Run area park and ride as illustrated in the below graphic. The volunteer clean up was led by Joe Andrews and Sarah Saber, the latter who made Royal Examiner aware of the restoration project that was accomplished on Sunday, October 29. Here is some background on how the project evolved and what was found at the site.

Map indicating the access path to the now semi-restored ‘Garrison-McKay Cemetery’, and below some of the downed tombstones encountered there.

“The people buried in this cemetery died years before the county was even created. Sarah McKay (died 1831) and Frances McKay (died 1833) are a couple of the graves we’ve identified along with several Civil War-era soldier’s graves,” Saber told us, adding, “Some of the graves are miss-marked on “Find a Grave” so we don’t want them to be lost. We feel it’s important since they’re some of the original settlers of Warren County, so it’s important to save it and make sure it’s known before it gets trampled and forgotten.”

Following the Sunday, October 29, clean up, Saber updated us: “The cemetery clean up was a success yesterday. It was a lot of work and isn’t fully completed but we got a lot of the large/invasive brush cut back and put ribbon around the area. Between the encroaching dirt mountain stockpile behind it and the town utilities expansion by the creek, I think we cleaned it up just at the right time. Any later and it could’ve easily been covered and hidden forever.

“There’s not a lot of info and some of it seems to be incorrect. We identified three distinct rows of both marked graves and unmarked stones which we believe are from an earlier time period or could be children. Probably around 40 total? Not really sure,” Saber observed.

A closer look at downed tombstones; and below, Joe Andrews and canine assistant at work on Oct. 29, helping clean up and restore the site.

Saber noted that when Andrews came across the cemetery back in 2006, he made some inquiries. However, Warren Rifles Civil War Museum curator Dewey Vaughan’s awareness of references to its existence was the extent of information Andrews got at the time about what he had encountered.

That combined with it being on private property “which had cows grazing the fields and now construction all around it” had led to its borderline demise, Saber reported. But Andrews was able to get permission from the property owner to access the cemetery, and permission was granted by Town Manager Joe Waltz allowing access from the Town’s pump-station gated road. “So, we cleaned it up and put ribbon around it so it’s not so easy to be forgotten now,” Saber said with a nod to the clean-up crew of friends and relatives. And yes, with the clean up being accomplished on October 29, between Downtown Front Royal’s Saturday, October 28, pre-Halloween Trick or Treat and October 31st, there is a Halloween connection to this project.

“We saw one of the graves, Sarah McKay would’ve been 220 years old this Halloween, so we figured it was a good tribute to have it cleaned up a bit for her birthday.

Sarah McKay’s marker, as noted in below summary of some of the discovered markers, the ‘wife of Joseph McKay’, and as noted above born Oct. 31, 1803, and dead Oct. 8, 1831 at age 27. Her marker was restored for the 220th anniversary of her birth. Below, the clean up crew, including canine and baby assistants, takes a break, we are guessing with Joe Jr. on the camera detail. – Great job, you all earned that break.

“It was a lot of work and it was only a few of us who were there, myself, Joe Andrews and his sons, Joseph Jr. and Ben. Plus Ben’s fiance Alyssa and their newborn, Riley, was supervising. Then our friends Mike and Melanie Salins joined in. And of course my dog, Bane, was also supervising. We were able to get a lot done and plan to go back again to finish it up sometime in the future.” Below are some of the graves the group was able to locate and read, including the above referenced Sarah McKay:

In memory of Sarah E. McKay wife of Joseph McKay was born October 31st 1803 and departed this life October 8th 1831 aged 27 Years, 11 Months and 23 days

In memory of Frances E. McKay wife of John W. McKay who was born May 30th 1813 and departed this life November 21st 1833 aged 20 Years 6 Months and 22 days

S.E.Mc.K

Above, the SEMcK marker, perhaps a McKay child, with two other stones propped up nearby. Below, the tombstone of a Garrison child, Grace, departed to ‘the arms of Jesus’ on Aug. 19, 1886.

Grace Daughter of Tho’s. N. & S.E. Garrison Aug 19, 1886. “Safe in the arms of Jesus”.

A.J.C.

(maybe “in memory of” or “in loving memory”) Keturah Garrison Departed this life (separate stone, believed to go with top broken piece) Nov 19, 1891, Aged 61 years. “Resting in light of a glorious resurrection”.

“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord”

Agnes Jane Cramer Born Nov. 6, 1822, Died April 28, 1898

Thomas N. Garrison Co B 17 REGT VA INF CSA Oct. 12, 1827 to June 10, 1909

“We were surprised the stones are in such good condition to begin with since they’re 100 to 200-plus years old,” Saber observed of what the group found on closer examination.

With this restoration project begun by conscientious citizens, with the cooperation of the property owner, perhaps one or several of the local historical societies and the two involved municipalities can band together to see the restoration project to a conclusion, with permanent preservation a joint goal of this community moving forward.