When Ron LaBarte, one of the township supervisors in Farmington Township, had a friend call up and ask about the Union Grove Cemetery, he had never heard of it.

LIke a good friend, he looked it up and discovered the cemetery, which was founded in 1863, was just up the road from his home.

The cemetery was cared for until the cost to mow the cemetery became too high, according to records from the Jamestown Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1965, which also stated that the cemetery was “a mess of poison ivy, broken stones – many thrown out in rubble at one side.” The cemetery is also known as the Preston Cemetery or Pond Cemetery.

The cemetery was in even worse shape when LaBarte came on the scene. Massive Multiflora Rose bushes had taken over the cemetery and several trees had fallen. Many stones remain off their foundations or knocked down, waiting for someone with the expertise to properly restore them. The cemetery now resembles a field again, with grass dotted with purple columbine flowers and locust trees trying to make a comeback.

The cemetery contains the remains of veterans of the Revolutionary War, including Gideon Northrop and Noah Chapell, whose body was moved to the cemetery from the farm where he was buried. The remains of several Civil War soldiers are also in the cemetery. American flags appeared this Memorial Day next to the known stones of veterans.

There are more than 140 cemeteries in Warren County, according to the Warren County Genealogical Society. Many of these, like Union Grove Cemetery, are small historic cemeteries on private land. Some are family burial plots on private land, others the large public cemeteries easily seen. Others contain the potters graves, also known as paupers graves, created for the poor.

Those interested in helping to restore the cemetery or know more about restoring old gravestones and would like to help, contact Farmington Township at 814-593-0001.