Jefferson County Online Koons Cemetery Also known as Coon or Long Cemetery Locust Grove Township, Section 23

This cemetery had burials from 1839 to 1879. According to property records, in 1857 the landowner was David Sears and his wife. In Deed Book P, Page 316, dated June 22, 1857, there is a transaction for this land which states "For the consideration of one dollar we hereby convey to Bridget Koons as Trustee for the family of John Koons dec'd, for a burying ground and for no other purpose, the following described peace or parcel of land lying in Section twenty three, Township Seventy two North, of Range Eleven West to wit: commencing at a rock in a lane between Said Sears & H. Laughlin thence for the purpose of identifying the location of Said graveyard South 44 poles & 20 links, East 37 poles & 14 links to a rock, corner of Said grave yard thence South 4 poles, East 3 poles, North 4 poles, and West 3 poles to the beginning containing 12 Square poles & rocks placed at each corner. (The lines of the above were run and a variation of 10½" East) and we warrant the title to the above piece of land against the claims of all persons whomsoever."

As of 1975 there were seven stones standing, and their data was copied by a nearby farmer. This group of burials is shown in the first table. The cemetery was preserved until April, 1986, when the 89-acre farm was sold. From the 1930s to the 1950s, the area of the cemetery was a woodlot. In the 1960s clearing began and from the 1970s through about 1983 the area was a pasture. In 1986 or 1987 the new owner (who died in 2002) removed the stones, and the cemetery unfortunately was plowed over. The remains of those buried there were never removed from that location.

From the gravel road (191st Street) at the small cemetery sign, go south 739.2 feet, then east 619.74 feet to find the corner of the cemetery in the middle of what was, as of August, 2015, a flat farm field. The cemetery covers 66 feet north-to-south, and 49½ feet east-to-west.

As of January, 2016, the farm again has new owners. Through the efforts of desdendants of those buried there and others, the cemetery was recognized in the new deed, and the land surveyed in March to locate the cemetery's corners. Posts were placed at the corners in April, and work is underway to verify the number and location of the graves.

After considerable research by Verda Baird in 1986, she was able to put together a few family sheets on the many descendants of John KOONS. Those listed in the second table are likely buried in this cemetery but no stones were found by the farmer who copied the original seven markers. There were at least six more graves that have never been marked by gravestones.

If you need further information on a listed name, contact the Jefferson County Genealogical Society or post a Query on our Query Board.