Historic Graveyard Tour
This image is an artistic rendering of an inscription on an old tombstone in one of the graveyards featured in the 2009 Historic Graveyard Tour held in Lewisville, North Carolina.
Tour Overview
This past Saturday (May 2, 2009) I joined about 20 other individuals on the Historic Graveyard Tour that took us to six historic graveyards in the Lewisville Township. The tour began at the Lewisville Library and was sponsored by the Lewisville Historical Society’s Sesquicentennial Steering Committee. The six graveyards we visited are located at the following sites:
- Concord United Methodist Church
- Double Springs AME Zion Church (the church building no longer exists)
- Panther Creek Plantation (private property)
- Lewisville Baptist Church
- Lewisville United Methodist Church
- Shiloh Lutheran Church
Before departing for our first stop, each tour participant received a handout with information on each historic graveyard. Upon arriving at each graveyard, we were met by an individual who provided additional history regarding each site.
Upcoming Coverage
I took a number of photos at each graveyard, and I also tried to capture some audio of the oral historical session provided at each site. Over the next few weeks, I’ll feature each graveyard separately, with lots of photos, and possibly some audio, if the recording quality is good. I’ll be interspersing the coverage of each graveyard between other Lewisville events until each of the graveyards has been covered.
Meanwhile, shown next is a photo from each of the historic graveyards.
Concord United Methodist Church was the first stop on the Historic Graveyard Tour. There are many old tombstones in the back corner of this well-tended graveyard. While some of the older tombstones have legible inscriptions on them, such as shown in this photo, there are a number of graves that are marked only by a crudely hewn stone devoid of any identification information.
Near where the Double Springs AME Zion Church building used to stand is another historic graveyard. Some markers have full names and birth/death information, while others merely contain a person's initials.
The Panther Creek graveyard is a family cemetery located on private property, the site of what was formerly known as Panther Creek Plantation.
You can't miss this monument, standing tall in the center of the Lewisville Baptist Church cemetery. The monument pays tribute to the founder of Lewisville, Lewis Laugenour.
A pretty tuft of wildflowers had grown naturally at the base of this old tombstone at Lewisville United Methodist Church.
The historic graveyard at Shiloh Lutheran Church contains the graves of a number of individuals who were born in the 1700s, such as Francis Ketner, a Revolutionary War solider. The oldest gravestone in the cemetery is written in German and marks the grave of Wilheminia Doll (Dull) who died in 1792.
Other Historic Graveyards?
In addition to the six graveyards mentioned above, are you aware of any other historical graveyards located in the Lewisville Township? Perhaps there are some private family plots that are accessible to the public. Please pass along your info on other graveyards — or share any thoughts you have about the graveyard tour in the Comment section below.
If you enjoyed this article, check out the latest coverage of the local historic graveyards found on this website.
