Great Island Cemetery was founded in 1791 for the early settlers of the area. Great Island Presbyterian Church was created when traveling preachers spoke on the banks of the river, across from Great Island. Once the congregation raised enough money to build their own church, it was placed on the south side of Bellefonte Avenue, near the top of the hill. The cemetery was created at that time, roughly between South Highland Street and Pearl Street. Later, the church moved down to 352 East Water Street, and then to its current location at 12 West Water Street, which was built in the 1860s. But the cemetery remained, and was still used for burials.

But by the early 1900s, the cemetery was in disrepair, and the City Council made the decision to close the cemetery. Over 100 bodies were disinterred and moved to other cemeteries, and the stones were gathered and moved, as well. By July of 1919, the project had been completed, and the Clinton Republican ran an article: “Great Island Cemetery Is No More.”

But it isn’t easy to move every inch of a cemetery that’s over 100 years old. Many of the bodies and stones were unfound or unclaimed, and in the end, some of the stones were piled up in a corner and abandoned. Many of them had not been discovered, and to this day, gravestones turn up around the neighborhood.

This has just happened again.

PHOTO PROVIDED Some of the old headstones from Great Island Cemetery are scrubbed down to reveal engravings.

In July, a Lock Haven woman living on Bald Eagle Street discovered stones from the old Great Island Cemetery on her property. At least one was part of a walkway, some were being used as steps and a few others were just sitting around. With a desire to have the stones respected and placed somewhere they belong, the woman contacted Justin Houser, president of the Clinton County Genealogical Society.

Houser made an appointment to go out and view the stones, and contacted the Highland Cemetery Association to see what could be done. After a discussion and a vote, Highland Cemetery agreed to accept the headstones, and Highland Cemetery board member Dave Wallace planned out a plot for them. With no known families of the deceased, and the stones left behind, Highland was the clearest choice. Wallace has been heavily involved with Highland Cemetery for decades, and has himself done research into the old Great Island Cemetery and the missing stones.

Highland Cemetery was founded in 1862, and is one of the oldest and most historic cemeteries in Lock Haven. In 1919, during the move, some of the bodies went to Highland Cemetery for re-interment. Other available cemeteries at the time included Dunnstown, Cedar Hill and Flemington.

Houser contacted Andrew Noll, of Clinton County Memorials and Gibson Monuments of Mill Hall. Noll agreed to do the work of removing the headstones from the private property and transporting them to Highland.

“The stones were on a neighboring property, used as steps and so on,” said Houser. “We discussed it with Highland Cemetery, who agreed to accept the stones. Highland is really where they belong.”

PHOTO PROVIDED Some of the old headstones from Great Island Cemetery which were recently discovered on a Bald Eagle Street property are pictured.

Noll moved the stones on Oct. 24, placing them in the specially designated plot in Highland.

One of the newly discovered stones belonged to Clarissa Mahan, who was related to Margaret Church, the daughter of city founder Jeremiah Church. Another one was Elizabeth Jones, who may have been the wife of John Jones, whom Jones Street is named after. Other names included Fridrich, Frank, Haak and McNaul.

Some of the stones were unreadable or indecipherable. One, a footstone with the initials “J.R.,” may have belonged to a John Raab, who was unfound in 1919 when the cemetery was moved. Another stone, belonging to a man named Abbott, was a permanent part of the basement stairs and couldn’t be moved without damage to the house.

The Highland Cemetery Association is willing to accept donations for care of these stones and other expenses. Information on donating is available from clove56@comcast.net or (570) 660-2012.

Other stones are almost certainly still in the area, undiscovered. Anyone who has information about where to find an old headstone from Great Island Cemetery is welcome to contact Houser at jkh@crwlaw.net.

PHOTO PROVIDED Some of the old headstones from Great Island Cemetery which were recently discovered on a Bald Eagle Street property are pictured.

Houser is enthusiastic about the possibility of discovering more stones, learning more about a chain of history that reaches back before Clinton County was founded.

“I’m glad to be a part of this historic effort,” he said. “And hopefully it will be the start of discovering more of the lost stones from Great Island Cemetery.”