Recent Photos of Old Brick Cemetery
Restoration
The "stagecoach sign" was first set in 2005, redone in 2010. It
marks the remnant of an Indian Trail which became a State Road for
Stagecoach travel in 1833 - by act of the State Legislature - the
State Road from Rushville to Carthage; or from Nauvoo (Commerce) to
Carthage to Rushville to Beardstown to Springfield. Hence, when the
brick church was built, in 1841, the site chosen was along one of
the most traveled roads in the county. On February 6, 1951, the
Cemetery was effectively (if perchance erroneously or illegally)
landlocked, by the township section line road being vacated (with a
wrong legal description being given). Since that time, the only way
anyone could access the cemetery was by crossing private property.
The Stagecoach Road was on maps until about 1940, and was never
formally closed or vacated, and should therefore be considered
still in existence as a road.
Most of the stones in this cemetery were down when we began
working on restoring it in 2004. The fence rows still have some
tree stumps which will have to be removed before a new fence is
installed. There are still several stones to repair and reset. It
is probable that there are still stones underground which we have
not found yet.
