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City of Springdale
In 1801, Springdale Presbyterian Church acquired land at the south
end of Springdale along what is now State Route 4, where members built a church
and platted a cemetery. The church moved to a new site in 1833, but the old
cemetery remained in use until the 1950s, and then fell into neglect. No longer
having the means to maintain it, the church transferred ownership of the cemetery
with its 739 graves to the City of Springdale in 1987. The City began a long
restoration process. One of the first steps was to find the property lines by
removing overgrown vegetation and, in turn, uncovering many forgotten graves.
Once the site had been cleared, hundreds of loads of topsoil were brought in
to help level the ground. In 1989, the City combined a Community Development
grant with money from the City's general fund to buy and install a new iron
fence around the cemetery. The most challenging and time-consuming task, however,
has been restoring and resetting hundreds of grave markers that were broken
or toppled. The Public Works Department repaired and reset each of the markers
one by one, aided at times by volunteers. Today, Old St. Mary's Cemetery is
a proud part of the history of the Mill Creek Valley. On Memorial Day and the
Fourth of July the City marks the graves of nine Revolutionary War veterans,
12 Civil War veterans, and one World War I veteran with American flags and larger
flags line the edge of the old cemetery facing public streets. The restored
cemetery is a demonstration of the City of Springdale's dedication and commitment
to preserving its history.
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