St. Bernard Church, located in Snake Run, Indiana, gives this small town a piece of extremely interesting history. The church has its own cemetery, commonly known as Snake Run Cemetery, and it is now home to around 70 gravestones. In the early 1870s, the town of Obertsville was founded near Gibson County, and this later developed into the town of Snake Run. Within five years of Obertsville’s founding, a few Catholic families decided to build a small log cabin and have it serve as a school building. A priest from Princeton, Indiana occasionally came and said mass at the school, and in 1877 the building was transformed into an official church. The new church was dedicated to St. Bernard, who was a very popular and in-demand holy man in the 1110s. His feast day is August 20, 1153. At St. Bernard Church, mass was celebrated in German until 1915. Another German custom was that men and women would sit on opposite sides of the church, so a family was not able to share a pew, as they would today. The rent for each pew was $3.50. 1878 was a big year for St. Bernard parish. A stable was built with slots to hold each family’s mule or wagon, and the lots in the cemetery were divided and sold for $7 each. Three main pastors presided at St. Bernard in the 1870s: Rev. Alexander Koesters, Rev. George Widerin, and Rev. Bernard Kintrup. In 1886, Father Peter Hommes built the rectory for the church, and became the first residential priest. Many pastors came and went throughout the 1800s, and in the early 1900s multiple mens and womens societies were formed within the congregation. In 1909 statues of St. Agnes, St. Aloysius, St. Stephen, and St. Theresa were built for the side altars in the church. Two new expensive bells, one small and one large, were blessed and added to the bell tower in 1910. Around this time there were about 50 families that belonged to the parish, and 30 children that were still taught in the school. In the 1920s, many personal donations were made including candelabras, a chalice, candlesticks, more statues, and monetary contributions towards church debt. On October 10, 1938 the electric lights were turned on. In the next few years, electricity ran wild throughout the church, powering things like a blower in the organ, restrooms, and general lighting in the church and rectory. Extensive remodeling of the interior church went on during the 1960s, including new marble benches, new doors, ramps, a furnace, and a new organ. During the 1970s, the parish community really came together and bonded through basketball leagues, parish cookouts, and other annual events. St. Bernard Church continues to thrive today, providing a phenomenal place to gather and worship for Catholic citizens of Snake Run and its surrounding areas.viding a phenomenal place to gather and worship for Catholic citizens of Snake Run and its surrounding areas.

 

Located in the small town of Hatfield, Indiana, the James Parker Cemetery began as a plot for family burials.  This family plot has since grown into the sole community cemetery that has served nearly a century as the final resting place of roughly 1000 citizens, soldiers, and family members in a town with a current population of some 700 residents.  But relative size aside, this cemetery has been and continues to serve an important function for the family and friends who have and will lay their loved ones to rest within its hallowed grounds. 

The first Parker buried on the land was James Parker Sr. in 1915.  Mr. Parker was entombed in one of the above ground vaults that are located on the cemetery grounds.  he family land, located on the northwest corner of Hatfield, was a favorable site to serve as a family cemetery because of its open, flat terrain.  Easy access to the cemetery also came as Old Indiana Route 66 was put in just south of the first graves on the land. 

Recognizing a need within the community, the Parker family agreed to open the family lands to their neighbors to be used as the final resting spot for their kin as well.  This increased burden required more work to be done to take care of the lands as well as individual plots being sold and prepared for burial.  Because of this increased responsibility, according to county records, the Parker family deeded over the cemetery land in 1918 to the Trustees of the James Parker Cemetery to provide the needed upkeep.  Three local churches of Hatfield- the Baptist, Bethel, and United Methodist- got involved with the preservation of the cemetery and each provide six members to sit on a board of directors for the cemetery. 

Other local citizens have contributed to the preservation and beautification of the cemetery as well.  In 1986, as an Eagle Scout project, Shawn Wangler designed and built a sign for the entrance of the cemetery.  This sign had a significant connection to the history of the cemetery and the county as well.  The sign was completed using bricks from the old school building in Luce Township, from the Spencer County Old Folks Home and one brick from the fireplace of the James Parker home. 

Another significant symbol is the flag pole standing on the North end of the cemetery.  This pole was purchased and installed by John and Martha Maier, owners of theBoone Funeral Home in Evansville, Indiana. With the flagpole in place, a sidewalk was put in that runs from the East and the west and meets at the flagpole. Finally, a plaque was erected by Jeaneda Middleton in honor of her Husband Wayne.  This plaque is dedicated to the Veterans who are buried in the James Parker Cemetery.  Of the veterans laid to rest Here, one Civil War Veteran is known among them, this being Martin Middleton who was buried there in 1927. 

As time has passed, expansion of the cemetery became a necessity.  In 1989 land to the North of the cemetery was purchased.  This land has been plotted out and is now the site for the future burial plots as the original lands have been filled.  With roughly 1600 plots sold to this point, the James Parker Cemetery will continue to be an important piece of land for the families of Hatfield, both those who remain there as well as those who have left but plan on returning one day. 

--Authored by Shiloh Stone/USI student/Browning Family Foundation Information and photos furnished by Bill Duley

Folsomville Cemetery is a small cemetery located just outside Folsomville, Indiana in Warrick County. Folsomville was founded on January 27th ,1859. The name Folsomville comes from Benjamin Folsom who was on the the original founders along with Riley Rhoads. Among the other names of the original founders was the Shyrock family and the Gentry family. The Gentry family records extend back to 1821 under William Gentry who owned most of the land that is now Folsomville. 

Along with many other towns of the time period one of the main industries for the town was coal mining along with lumber and farming. By 1881 a mill and carding machine was erected by Pemberton and Lee. Along with the mill the town had a school, two dry good stores, two saloons, blacksmith and carpenter shops, as well as 5 physicians. For a short period of time it was also called “Lick Skillet” and there are numerous stories behind the name but in the end Folsomville prevailed. 

Today the cemetery is likely the best way of learning the history of the town due to the fact that all the original family names are found there. The Shyrock family, the Gentry family, and even a number of Folsom's are buried there. Folsomville Cemetery is also referred to as Phillips Cemetery in many public records. This is likely due to the Phillips family either owning the original land or they were the first to be buried here. Unfortunately the reason for this confusion over the name has been lost in time. 

Some of the key features of the cemetery include a tall flagpole just inside the cemetery as well as a white chain fence that surrounds the property. Today there are over 1,200 grace sites as well as 900 headstones.

Shiloh Cemetery is a small church cemetery located about a mile outside of Folsomville, Indiana which today has a population of about 150 people. The oldest known deed to the cemetery land dates back to 1874 and since then has been the final resting place for the members of the Shiloh church and their families. Shiloh Church began in 1870 inside a small log house about half a mile outside of Dickeyville, Indiana. Thirteen years later the members of Shiloh decided to build a church. The original land for the church was donated by the Gentry family and designed by Bra. John Barnett. The original design called for a total of 7,175 feet of lumber and after all costs were added up the church cost $36.85 which was donated by members of the church. Today the church would have cost around $630. 

While the church today is no longer in service it still stands about 2 miles from the Shiloh Cemetery. The church itself and the land were eventually sold and all the money went to the cemetery. Today the cemetery has about 300 head stones and features a wide variety of people including war veterans of several of America's wars. As with many small towns they had to be self sufficient so things like Masonic symbols and other organizations can be seen on the head stones. The cemetery sits on a small patch of land that consists of two small hills that the cemetery seems to flow over. Probably the most notable characteristic of the cemetery are the old trees that surround it and the small wooded area surrounding as if to suggest that history lies here. While the Shiloh Church may not exist today the cemetery is still being used and plots are still being bought. The cemetery now stands as a testimate to the members of this small community and the church and will continue to do so for years to come. 

 

Blythe cemetery was founded around 1829, although there is some dispute of the exact year. At the very least, the original church was created in 1829. It also functioned as a school house. Andrew Blythe started the church officially, when he arrived from Tennessee. This is disputed, as there is an article that claims the church was created in 1826. Before this, meetings were held in members' houses.

Whenever the circuit rider was in the area, he would come to the building and hold a meeting. A circuit rider was a traveling clergy man that made circuits around territories and settlements preach, and to a lesser extent, administrate. In 1851 the land for the cemetery was donated. On September 28 of 1859, the land that the church sits on was donated to the church by John C. Blythe and his wife Amanda. There is even a soldier from the revolutionary war buried there. There are a few soldiers from the civil war as well.

In 1900, the building was removed and a new one replaced it. In 1915, the members of the Church began holding Homecomings, which were hosted by the Douglas family, who were, at the time, prominent in the community. Twenty seven pastors have led the church, two of which were student pastors. Interestingly, they were consecutive in doing so. In 1963, the belfry was struck by lightning. In 1967, they purchased hymnals. John Blythe, the great-great grandson of John and Amanda, who donated the land, appears in the Church’s membership book.

Liberty Cemetery was founded around 1850. It was likely started before Cynthiana, the town it belongs to, was founded in 1851. It is not known how many people are buried there as there are many plots where the graves are not marked, and in some cases, a stone was never delivered to the site. At one point, a church stood in the land next to the highway. The name of the church is not known for certain. Word of mouth says that it was either Big Creek Church or Liberty Church.

The total property was donated and sold piecemeal by various farmers, and citizens of Cynthiana. It has been added to, even recently. Burials continue here, even to this day. It is rumored that there is a mass grave in a low area on the property. Now, who was buried in it? Here are two rumors that were given by people that live in the area, the first is confederate soldiers, second, is townsfolk that died in a disease outbreak. There are in fact, civil war veterans that are buried there, although it is not known how many. There are even veterans from the Spanish-American war as well.