History of Oak Ridge (a.k.a. Forest Home) Cemetery
CHANCE, BARNES, MILLER, ENGLAND, CRABB, CAVETT, FARIS, BEARD, NEWTON, WARRICK, DENHART, KLING, FIFE, SHIDLER
Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 10/28/2009 at 08:24:10
OAK RIDGE CEMETERY
(A.K.A. FOREST HOME)located near Mt. Ayr, Liberty Township, Ringgold County, Iowa
Oak Ridge (a.k.a. Forest Home) Cemetery is located north of Mt. Ayr in Liberty Township, Ringgold County, Iowa. From U.S. Highway 2, the cemetery is located approximately 1.7 miles north on West Street. The entrance to Oak Ridge Cemetery is a long winding gravel lane located on the east side of the road.
The first cemetery located in the vicinity of Mount Ayr was Oak Ridge Cemetery. Joshua CHANCE purchased the land on November 13, 1856, and donated it for use as a burial plot before his death on August 27, 1858. The deed turning the land, 2 70/100 acres, over to Ringgold County as a burial plot was never on record. It was lost. On September 5, 1877, Ringgold County made a deed for the Oak Ridge Cemetery Association with trustees W. H. BARNES, J. A. MILLER, and S. ENGLAND. Dorington CHANCE deeded another lot to Oak Ridge Cemetery Association on September 1st of 1877. On December 12, 1916, Dorington CHANCE and his wife gave a quit-claim deed for 11 acres more or less to the cemetery which rectified the loss of the original deed.
In the spring of 1856, Johnny CRABB died, the first death in Mount Ayr and the first interment at Oak Ridge Cemetery. Two women were interred at Oak Ridge Cemetery however no gravestones were placed to mark their burial sites. These interments occurred prior to the cemetery was given to the county.
The first gravestone was of Joshua CHANCE who donated the land to the county and died on August 27, 1858. The next oldest interment was of Rebecca CAVETT on October 12, 1858.
Many of Joshua CHANCE'S descendants are interred at Oak Ridge as were many local families - BEARD, FARIS, NEWTON, MILLER, WARRICK, CAVETT, DENHART, KLING, FIFE, and SHIDLER. Civil War veterans and victims of the 1918 Spanish Influenza epidemic are also among the interments. Several gravesites are either unmarked or the gravestones are now missing. The last interment was in 1998. Although Oak Ridge Cemetery is not closed for burials, most local interments are at Rose Hill Cemetery located in the southeastern portion of Mount Ayr.
SOURCE: LESAN, Mrs. B. M. Early History of Ringgold County: 1844 - 1937 p. 131. Bliss Pub. House. Lamoni, Iowa. 1937.
Oak Ridge (a.k.a. Forest Home) Cemetery
Ringgold Documents maintained by Tony Mercer.
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