Historic Graveyard Tour – Lewisville UMC
Ruth Reynolds Hartle, a long-time member of Lewisville United Methodist Church, looks across the graveyard behind the church during the 2009 Historic Graveyard Tour.
More History Lessons
The fifth of six stops on the 2009 Historic Graveyard Tour that was held on May 2, 2009 brought us to Lewisville United Methodist Church.
In 2003 Ruth Reynolds Hartle wrote a series of articles on the history of Lewisville United Methodist Church that appeared in the church’s monthly newsletters, leading up to its 125th anniversary celebration in October 2003. (Ruth’s sources for the articles were the church archives and the book, The History of Lewisville United Methodist Church 1878–1988, written by her brother, the late G. Galloway Reynolds.)
While reading Ruth’s articles, it became clear to me why Ruth was the spokesperson for this stop on the graveyard tour. Ruth is not only a long-time member of Lewisville United Methodist Church and the sister of Lewisville’s foremost historian, G. Galloway Reynolds, but her writings reflect that she, like her brother, cherishes history and seeks out the lessons it can teach us.
UPDATE: Ruth Hartle passed away on May 7, 2015.
For more HISTORY, PHOTOS and AUDIO, please continue to the NEXT SECTION.
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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.
CLICK to see photos from the Historic Graveyard Tour
