In our small town of Northville, there are two cemeteries, Oakwood and Rural Hill. The oldest is Oakwood. The first settlers dedicated the oak grove on Katie In 1830s. Many of the Names on stones are streets in the community.
In the 1930s, my Father lived on the street behind the cemetery. When late for High school, he would jump the fence weaving between the stones to the school on the other side of Katie. The graves were over one hundred years old them. Families are grouped, some with fences around them. Some unique stones include a four sided, resembling a crib where the remains of two young children are buried. As a child, I would lay in the marker wonder about the children buried there.
Some of the oldest stones were composed of sandstone and have deteriorated, losing the marking on the exterior. There is a lily of the valley motif of a cluster of lilies of the valley with leaves is seen on the top center of the marker, carved into the granite above the writing. Another marker is a unrolled scroll with the names and dates of the family members buried there. A small hand is reaching out to the scroll reaching to the rolled scroll and is carved a few inches from the edge of the scroll reaching for it.
A memorial marker notes the resting place of thirty five veterans from the Civil and Spanish American wars. There is an aluminum plaque near the entrance naming the veterans and a brief description of the earliest Northville settlers. Unlike Rural Hill Cemetery, the veterans are buried in their family plots.
Many of the grave markers have oak leaves and acorns on the stones. They signify strength, endurance and long life
There a colored section where the early black residences were buried..Near the gate to Oakwood, The historic society has placed a sign with the words, “Is stones could talk.” as the starting point to the self guided tour.
There is a commemorative marker notes the story of the original oak grove. There still a few remaining oaks among the gravestones. Because many of the earlier internments have no markers, the exact count of plots is not noted. In the Flu epidemic, of 1918, the Northville citizen population were hit hard. Victims were buried quickly and many have no marker and were recorded as unknown.
For the historian, the 191 year old cemetery gives an interesting insight into the early settlers in the area.
Carolaspot@aol.com
Copyright 10-5-26
