PARKERSBURG - The Wood County Historical and Preservation Society is attempting to raise about $2,000 for a monument to be erected at the county pauper's cemetery honoring those buried there.
Meeting with Wood County commissioners Thursday, Bob Enoch, president of the society, said the monument will be made from decorative concrete to look like a tombstone. There will be an inlay plaque on the monument giving the history of the pauper's cemetery.
In 1864 the Overseers of the Poor purchased about 300 acres of the former Kincheloe property on which to establish a farm to care for the indigent of the county. The cemetery was initially established as a final resting place for those who died there. Enoch said many records for the cemetery were lost when the infirmary was destroyed by fire in 1950.
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Wood County Historical and Preservation Society officials are raising funds to construct a monument dedicated to those interred at the county pauper’s cemetery. Wood County commissioners gave their approval of the project following a Thursday meeting with Bob Enoch, society president, above.
"There may be as many as 1,000 individuals buried there," Enoch said.
Enoch said the society will attempt to raise the funds for the monument. A pen-and-ink drawing will be sold for $20 for donations, for $50 donors will receive a brick made from the original Wood County Courthouse stone steps that had to be removed as part of the renovation process. There were only a few steps removed, so the number of bricks of stone will be limited. For a $75 contribution, the donor will receive a representation of the courthouse cornerstone and for $100 the donors will get a more detailed cornerstone representation made from the steps.
The county-owned cemetery is in the parking lot of West Virginia University at Parkersburg. Enoch said it's hoped the university will permit the monument to be erected on a small strip of land in front of the fenced cemetery.
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Wood County Historical and Preservation Society officials are raising funds to construct a monument dedicated to those interred at the county pauper's cemetery. Wood County commissioners gave their approval of the project following a Thursday meeting with Bob Enoch, society president.
Certificates of authenticity and three memorials made from some of the original Wood County Courthouse steps that were removed during the recent renovation of the steps will be sold to help pay for the project along with a pen-and-ink sketch of the proposed monument. The stones, some of which are representations of the original courthouse cornerstone, are being sold for $50, $75 and $100. They will be limited edition and come with certificates of authenticity.
Those wishing to contribute to the monument project can send donations to the Wood County Historical and Preservation Society, P.O. Box 565, Parkersburg, W.Va. 26101, call Enoch at 304-483-9863 or contact the county commission office at 304-424-1976.
The commissioners gave their blessings to the project and the fundraising efforts.
"It's a great part of Wood County history," Enoch said of the stones. "They will be made as they are ordered and will be numbered because there will be a limited number that can be made."
Commissioner Steve Gainer pulled a $100 bill from his pocket to purchase one of the stones Thursday, noting, "I appreciate your not requesting funds from the county for this project."
Last month representatives of the society who earlier volunteered to research existing death records and document those interred at Wood County's pauper's cemetery earlier turned over those documents to the county commission.
"We had documented over 800 burials there with probably 30 years of those records," Enoch said.
Copies of the record are available at the courthouse, and Wood County Library and may be put online at a future date at www.woodcountywv.com.
Those wishing to contribute to the monument project can send donations to the Wood County Historical and Preservation Society, P.O. Box 565, Parkersburg, W.Va. 26101, call Enoch at 304-483-9863 or contact the county commission office at 304-424-1976.
