AUBURN CEMETERY
GRAVE SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM
(NOTE: THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED)
Updated - 05/12/2023
The Auburn Cemetery (also known as the: Auburn Church of God Cemetery; Auburn Public Cemetery; Church of God Cemetery; First Bethel Church Cemetery; lower cemetery; Mill Street Cemetery; old cemetery; original cemetery or Schoener's Dale Road Cemetery) was the first public cemetery in the area which later became the town of Auburn. This cemetery can be found in the southeast quadrant of Auburn near the intersection of Bear Creek Street and Mill Street. Although an interment has occurred here as recently as 2011, this burial ground is considered an inactive or dormant cemetery.
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SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM OVERVIEW
In February of 2019, a sixteen-year old Auburn resident named Sarah Bretzius approached the Auburn Area Historical Society Chairperson Todd Graybill with a request. Sarah stated she would like to launch a project to restore the Auburn Cemetery. She had several specific goals she wanted to achieve: (1) Beautify the cemetery - plant flowers and decorative shrubbery to enhance the overall appearance; (2) Clean dirty or encrusted grave markers using professionally-approved chemicals and techniques to restore their appearance and clarify the illegible inscriptions; (3) Straighten grave markers which were leaning or toppling; (4) Reinstall grave markers which had fallen and/or were covered with soil and grass; (5) Repair grave markers which were broken into two or more pieces using professionally-approved adhesives and techniques; and (6) Attempt to locate unidentified grave plots by probing for covered grave markers or matching unmarked grave indentations with known but unmarked interments based on family plots, adjacent grave markers or other indicators.
Todd asked Sarah the motivation of her project. She clarified that this undertaking was not a "school project" or a "whim" but that her motivation was based on the desire to preserve the historic site as well as return dignity to the grave sites of those individuals interred within the cemetery. Since both of these motivations were both honorable and justifiable, Todd approved of Sarah's efforts with the stipulation that this project would be organized, lead and executed by Sarah with the A.A.H.S. simply assisting and supporting her efforts. Todd wanted to ensure that Sarah would receive the recognition she rightfully deserves for her initiative and beneficial effort.
Todd first stated that an extensive effort should be made to establish ownership of the cemetery. For the past several decades, no one seemed to know exactly who owned the cemetery. Neither the Auburn Borough nor the three churches still active in Auburn had any records of ownership, interments or plot locations. Checks of the Schuylkill County Tax Records and Parcel Locator only listed the "owner" of the Auburn Cemetery as "Auburn Cemetery" and the owner's mailing address as "General Delivery, Auburn, PA 17922". After locating the only deed on file within the Schuylkill County Courthouse, the ownership was officially established as belonging to the congregation now known as the "Auburn Church of God". Other historically-relevant documents appear to support that ownership.
Sarah and Todd then approached Pastor Kerry Duke (Auburn Church of Go) and his wife Tina to inform them of their unexpected "windfall". The Dukes were unaware of the church's ownership of the cemetery but agreed that the documentation and research appeared to support the claim. They expressed their gratitude to Sarah and Todd for having done the research, for providing them with a detailed Auburn Cemetery (Interment) Directory which Todd had previously developed, and were especially grateful that Sarah was interested in restoring the cemetery. The Dukes gave their approval for the project as well as offered any reasonable support they or their congregation might afford Sarah. Vicki Graybill, the Mayor of Auburn at the time, learned of Sarah's project and expressed her appreciation and support of Sarah's willingness to restore the cemetery.
Sarah and Todd reviewed each of the approx. 140 known grave markers found within the Auburn Cemetery and identified 60 of those markers that needed some combination of cleaning, righting, erecting or repairing the marker. A list of the grave markers requiring their attention was made. Sarah then proposed they create "cards" similar to "trading cards" in which a single grave marker (requiring attention) is pictured along with information pertaining to the interred individuals name, date of birth, date of death and the plot location. A blank box would allow a "sponsor's" name to be added to the card.
The costs of the approved cleaning chemicals and/or professional adhesive to effect repairs averaged about $10 per grave marker when purchased in bulk. Sarah proposed offering "sponsorships" for each grave marker requiring attention. A sponsor would donate $10 toward the costs of cleaning and repair materials in exchange for sponsoring a particular grave marker. The sponsor would receive the photo-sponsorship card with their name added to it as the sponsor. The person's donation would defray the costs of the materials to clean and/or repair the grave marker they sponsored. The sponsor would have no further expense, would not be solicited for future donations, would not be required to clean or repair the grave marker themselves nor would they be expected to maintain the grave marker once it was restored. The sponsorship would be just a simple $10 donation to pay for the chemicals. Sarah and a team of volunteers would perform the restoration of sponsored grave markers.
Sarah featured her sponsorship program at the Schuylkill County History Fair held at the Fairlane Village Mall on February 9th, 2019. Her program generated a lot of interest from the crowds to include several other history societies' members. Sarah was asked to share her innovative program with other history societies. At the Schuylkill County Coalition of Historical Societies annual meeting on February 27th, her sponsorship program was outlined to the historical societies' representatives attending the meeting. Sarah generated much enthusiasm with her program and has been asked by multiple individuals to meet with their society members to help develop their own versions of the program. Although Sarah had not yet officially begun soliciting donations for her sponsorship program, she received eleven volunteers to assist with the effort and twenty-four sponsorships of grave marker restorations! As of Sunday, August 18, 2019, all forty-six sponsorships identified have been paid in full! Our special thanks goes to the Auburn Church of God for sponsoring the final fifteen graves at the Mill Street location.
On Sunday, August 18, 2019, Sarah and Todd had the pleasure of addressing the Auburn Church of God congregation on Sarah's Cemetery Restoration project. Todd began the presentation by providing a brief history of the cemetery as well as a detailed explanation of how ownership was uncertain for many prior decades and how that ownership of the cemetery was firmly established as indisputably belonging to the Auburn Church of God. Sarah then concluded the presentation by briefly explaining her Cemetery Restoration Sponsorship program and plans for the erection of a cemetery sign as well as a rental of a ground-penetrating radar unit to detect unmarked graves within the burial grounds. Pastor Kerry Duke pleasantly surprised Sarah and Todd with the announcement that not only was the Auburn Church of God going to sponsor the remaining fifteen (out of 46) sponsorships but that the church was donating an additional $350 toward the project to be used to their discretion (which in this case will be applying the monies toward the rental of the ground penetrating radar unit). Todd Graybill has informed Sarah and the ACOG congregation that the Auburn Area Historical Society will also donate $100 toward the rental expense if needed. Sarah and Todd hope to have the Mill Street Cemetery restoration phase completed by the end of September.
Todd asked Sarah the motivation of her project. She clarified that this undertaking was not a "school project" or a "whim" but that her motivation was based on the desire to preserve the historic site as well as return dignity to the grave sites of those individuals interred within the cemetery. Since both of these motivations were both honorable and justifiable, Todd approved of Sarah's efforts with the stipulation that this project would be organized, lead and executed by Sarah with the A.A.H.S. simply assisting and supporting her efforts. Todd wanted to ensure that Sarah would receive the recognition she rightfully deserves for her initiative and beneficial effort.
Todd first stated that an extensive effort should be made to establish ownership of the cemetery. For the past several decades, no one seemed to know exactly who owned the cemetery. Neither the Auburn Borough nor the three churches still active in Auburn had any records of ownership, interments or plot locations. Checks of the Schuylkill County Tax Records and Parcel Locator only listed the "owner" of the Auburn Cemetery as "Auburn Cemetery" and the owner's mailing address as "General Delivery, Auburn, PA 17922". After locating the only deed on file within the Schuylkill County Courthouse, the ownership was officially established as belonging to the congregation now known as the "Auburn Church of God". Other historically-relevant documents appear to support that ownership.
Sarah and Todd then approached Pastor Kerry Duke (Auburn Church of Go) and his wife Tina to inform them of their unexpected "windfall". The Dukes were unaware of the church's ownership of the cemetery but agreed that the documentation and research appeared to support the claim. They expressed their gratitude to Sarah and Todd for having done the research, for providing them with a detailed Auburn Cemetery (Interment) Directory which Todd had previously developed, and were especially grateful that Sarah was interested in restoring the cemetery. The Dukes gave their approval for the project as well as offered any reasonable support they or their congregation might afford Sarah. Vicki Graybill, the Mayor of Auburn at the time, learned of Sarah's project and expressed her appreciation and support of Sarah's willingness to restore the cemetery.
Sarah and Todd reviewed each of the approx. 140 known grave markers found within the Auburn Cemetery and identified 60 of those markers that needed some combination of cleaning, righting, erecting or repairing the marker. A list of the grave markers requiring their attention was made. Sarah then proposed they create "cards" similar to "trading cards" in which a single grave marker (requiring attention) is pictured along with information pertaining to the interred individuals name, date of birth, date of death and the plot location. A blank box would allow a "sponsor's" name to be added to the card.
The costs of the approved cleaning chemicals and/or professional adhesive to effect repairs averaged about $10 per grave marker when purchased in bulk. Sarah proposed offering "sponsorships" for each grave marker requiring attention. A sponsor would donate $10 toward the costs of cleaning and repair materials in exchange for sponsoring a particular grave marker. The sponsor would receive the photo-sponsorship card with their name added to it as the sponsor. The person's donation would defray the costs of the materials to clean and/or repair the grave marker they sponsored. The sponsor would have no further expense, would not be solicited for future donations, would not be required to clean or repair the grave marker themselves nor would they be expected to maintain the grave marker once it was restored. The sponsorship would be just a simple $10 donation to pay for the chemicals. Sarah and a team of volunteers would perform the restoration of sponsored grave markers.
Sarah featured her sponsorship program at the Schuylkill County History Fair held at the Fairlane Village Mall on February 9th, 2019. Her program generated a lot of interest from the crowds to include several other history societies' members. Sarah was asked to share her innovative program with other history societies. At the Schuylkill County Coalition of Historical Societies annual meeting on February 27th, her sponsorship program was outlined to the historical societies' representatives attending the meeting. Sarah generated much enthusiasm with her program and has been asked by multiple individuals to meet with their society members to help develop their own versions of the program. Although Sarah had not yet officially begun soliciting donations for her sponsorship program, she received eleven volunteers to assist with the effort and twenty-four sponsorships of grave marker restorations! As of Sunday, August 18, 2019, all forty-six sponsorships identified have been paid in full! Our special thanks goes to the Auburn Church of God for sponsoring the final fifteen graves at the Mill Street location.
On Sunday, August 18, 2019, Sarah and Todd had the pleasure of addressing the Auburn Church of God congregation on Sarah's Cemetery Restoration project. Todd began the presentation by providing a brief history of the cemetery as well as a detailed explanation of how ownership was uncertain for many prior decades and how that ownership of the cemetery was firmly established as indisputably belonging to the Auburn Church of God. Sarah then concluded the presentation by briefly explaining her Cemetery Restoration Sponsorship program and plans for the erection of a cemetery sign as well as a rental of a ground-penetrating radar unit to detect unmarked graves within the burial grounds. Pastor Kerry Duke pleasantly surprised Sarah and Todd with the announcement that not only was the Auburn Church of God going to sponsor the remaining fifteen (out of 46) sponsorships but that the church was donating an additional $350 toward the project to be used to their discretion (which in this case will be applying the monies toward the rental of the ground penetrating radar unit). Todd Graybill has informed Sarah and the ACOG congregation that the Auburn Area Historical Society will also donate $100 toward the rental expense if needed. Sarah and Todd hope to have the Mill Street Cemetery restoration phase completed by the end of September.
Sponsors and Sponsorship Listing (Phase One)
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Sponsor(s) Qty.
Auburn Church of God Fifteen Bill & Cynthia Sowers Two Bonnie Baker One Bretzius Family One Dale Freudenberger One Darlene Bowler One Dawn Hull One Dawn Morris-Bicht One Denise Wagner One Emily Schwenk One Guy Graybill Four Jo Dionas Salon Two Jonathan Schwenk One Julie Moyer One Karen Kline One Kathy Kritak One Leigh Ann Witmier One Monica Lynn One Robert Wynbrenner One Sarah Bretzius One Shirley Solt One Teri Smith One Todd Graybill Two Vicki Graybill One William Bowler One |
On Saturday, July 13, 2019 a group of volunteers met at the cemetery to perform some of the tasks needed to restore the cemetery to its former state. Auburn Cemetery Restoration Project Manager Sarah Bretzius was accompanied by two of her friends, Caitlynne Schatz and Jack (LNU). A.A.H.S. Chairperson Todd Graybill was present as well as A.A.H.S. Lifetime Member Amanda Polynone. The five volunteers worked at cleaning grave markers that were dirty or encrusted, uncovering grave markers that had toppled, righting grave markers that were leaning and repairing grave markers that were broken. While work remains to be completed at the cemetery, these well-intended volunteers made significant progress in improving the burial grounds.
HISTORIC POINTS OF INTEREST:
- This cemetery has been referred to in various documents by many names to include the: Auburn Cemetery; Auburn Church of God Cemetery; Auburn Public Cemetery; Church of God Cemetery; First Bethel Church Cemetery; lower cemetery; Mill Street Cemetery; old cemetery; original cemetery and Schoener's Dale* Road Cemetery. Presently the most common name is the "Mill Street Cemetery" while the accepted proper name is that of the "Auburn Cemetery". (*NOTE: a "Dale" is another term for a valley)
- The total number of probable interments in this cemetery is estimated at 185.
- The most recent obvious interment in this cemetery is that of a Margaret Smith who died in 2011.
- The earliest known interment located within this cemetery is that of a Johannes Staudt who died in 1823...over two decades before any church or religious institution was built in the Auburn area and over three decades before the town of Auburn was officially established.
- In February of 1836, a Dewald Faust was deeded the lands which eventually would contain the parcel that became the Auburn Cemetery.
- In 1843, a congregation calling itself the "Church of God" was officially formed in Auburn.
- In 1845, two additional congregations officially formed in Auburn - the Auburn Reformed congregation and St. John's Lutheran Evangelical congregation
- In 1845, Dewald Faust and his wife Molly deeded the parcel of land to the congregation known as the "Church of God". One of the stipulations of the deed was that the land must be used by the "Church of God" for a "place of worship" and/or a "burial ground".
- In 1845, a public fund raising campaign was conducted to raise funds for the construction of a "Meeting House". This fund-raising campaign was non-denominational in order that multiple congregations could use the meeting house and that public education could be conducted within the building. Construction of this small stone structure began in 1845 and concluded in 1846. The structure was an estimated 20' x 30' maximum size (600 square feet) and possibly even smaller. A portion of the stone foundation of this meeting house is still evident in the northeast quadrant of the cemetery. This structure became the first recognized church building and "school" within the Auburn limits.
- Although the "Church of God" owned the parcel of land upon which the meeting house was built, their congregation openly invited other congregations to use the building for worship services and their burial ground for interments.
- An erroneous perception persists that the cemetery came into existence as a result of the church being located there. However, the land parcel had at least a single interment (1823) and possibly several unmarked interments at least twenty three years prior to its official beginning as the Church of God cemetery.
- 1847 - The most historically significant (to the Auburn area) individual who is interred within this cemetery is that of William Hay. William Hay, a Scottish immigrant, worked as a "lock keeper" or "lock tender" for the Schuylkill Navigation System, more commonly if erroneously referred to as the Schuylkill Canal. He lived near the canal and as people began settling near the locks, the area became referred to as "Scotchman's Lock" due to William Hay's presence. Later, that same area became officially renamed as "Auburn". William Hay's grave stone was even engraved to include his nickname of "the Old Scotchman". William Hay is also the first known interment to have occurred within the officially opened "Church of God" cemetery.
- 1857 - The congregations of the Auburn Reformed Church and St. John's Church decided to construct their own house of worship and began construction at its current site north of Pearson Street. These congregations migrated from the original meeting house to the new location once it became available. The church was officially dedicated in 1859.
- 1868 - The "Church of God" congregation, who legally owned the parcel of land upon which both the cemetery and meeting house were situated, had faithfully inhabited the meeting house since its completion in 1846. The congregation had outgrown the small meeting house and began construction on a new house of worship, located at its current site north of Market Street. The congregation relocated to the new house of worship and is now referred to as the "Auburn Church of God". Any and all ownership automatically transferred with the congregation and, although the Auburn Church of God began interments in a newer cemetery located north of Pearson Street, they remained the legal owners of the original cemetery located on Mill Street.
- 1872 - Records indicate that the old stone meeting house was abandoned and fell into disrepair. Eventually the structure was deemed unsafe and was razed to the ground. Any claims of a "joint ownership" of this church structure due to the public fund raising is now a moot point. The Church of God is still listed as owners of this parcel of land.
- 1897 - One of the more interesting interments within the cemetery is that of David Fry. David served as a "Private" in the "Colored Troops" of the Grand Army of the Republic during the Civil War. He was a light complexioned African American who returned to the Auburn area after his service and who was eventually (in 1897) interred into the Auburn Cemetery among the general population...an unusual distinction during a period of time in which many cemeteries still openly practiced segregation of races.
- 2019 - In an effort to research legal ownership of this parcel, A.A.H.S. Chairperson Todd Graybill finds the "most recent" deed legally filed at the Schuylkill County Courthouse. The deed is the one drawn in 1845 and clearly shows ownership of the cemetery grounds belongs to the "Church of God". Other historically relevant documents appear to support this ownership. After reviewing the documents with Attorney Bill Burke, who does some legal work on behalf of the A.A.H.S., Attorney Burke's opinion is that the ownership was, and still is, with the congregation now known as the Auburn Church of God.
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