The Forgotten Mitchell Cemetery of Bentleyville, PA

It’s not every day that you discover an unknown and uncared-for cemetery, but I did and it only took me about 30 years.

In the mid-1990s, I found a copy of Caldwell’s Atlas from 1876 which had a map of Bentleyville that listed a cemetery near the Methodist Church in Bentleyville. Interestingly, there wasn’t a cemetery there.

I asked around, but no one seemed to know anything about a cemetery in the middle of town. Finally, I talked to someone who knew about it, but they dismissed it by saying that it was probably for "paupers.” I thought it had been paved over or something had been built on it and this was upsetting, to say the least. I didn’t really know how to figure out what had happened to the cemetery and to be honest, after a while, I kind of forgot about it.

Then, last summer my daughter Abby and I were at an antique fair and I found a copy of the Caldwell’s Atlas map of Bentleyville. I bought it and when I took it home, I saw that cemetery again. Last month, I was taking my dog Bernie for a ride and I stopped by the Methodist Church to look around. It seemed to me that the cemetery should be located near the church, the Carlton Restaurant, or the dentist's office, so that’s the area we visited. One of the neighbors pointed me in the direction of a small grassy area behind the dentist's
office at 614 Main Street. She said the previous owner of her property had told her about the cemetery and showed her a rough-hewn stone that was most likely a grave marker.

My research led me to the Washington County Tax Claim office, where I discovered an unclaimed lot behind 614 Main Street that is listed as the Mitchell Cemetery. In addition to being listed on the 1876 map, the cemetery was also listed on the 1888 deed of Isaac Mitchell. The assistant tax assessor said there isn’t a deed to the property and suggested hiring a title searcher to figure it out. He said it is likely the property is owned by an heir of Isaac Mitchell.

I did a quick search of the Mitchell family on Ancestry, but I couldn’t find any local Mitchells who might be the owners. I also discovered that most of the Mitchells who were related to Isaac are buried in Pigeon Creek Cemetery in nearby Somerset Township.

I am the vice president of the Bentleyville Area Historical Society, so I took my findings to the last meeting and discussed it with the members. We are actively looking for the owners of the cemetery and trying to find out who is buried there. Eventually, we would like to mark the cemetery so that it isn’t lost again. Today, I created a listing for the Mitchell Cemetery on Find A Grave, with the hopes that someone with a connection might find it there. If anything, the cemetery now has an identity: Cemetery ID: 2777374.

So, the next time you drive through Bentleyville, please say a little prayer for the poor souls buried in our forgotten little cemetery. If you know anything about the Mitchell Cemetery, please email me at randileeross@gmail.com

Here's the link to the Mitchell Cemetery's new listing on Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2777374/mitchell-cemetery

Written by Randi Ross Marodi

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