Dates
in Red are not inscribed on the
tombstone and have either been calculated based on death date or are as a
result of research on the individual. Adjacent
to this cemetery, on the outside of the circle drive on the river side
opposite the largest number of burials in the Esta Memorial cemetery, lies
the Ice Family cemetery. Their names and inscriptions are included above. When
we visited this cemetery in June 2004, only the portion where the stones
were was
maintained, the majority of the hill being covered in blackberry briars
and tall grass. However, the areas around the tombstones that you see
photos of above were fairly recently mown. The driveway around the cemetery
was in very poor shape - large potholes and overgrown shrubbery hanging
over - but passable barely. There remains a fairly intact
retaining/decorative stone wall around the cemetery alongside the
driveway, but there are some portions of it that are in need of
repair. This is one
cemetery that could be fairly easily cleaned up and maintained once the
underbrush is cleared and some gravel spread along the drive to fill the
holes. The sweeping views of the Kanawha River valley from the top
of the knoll that is the cemetery are quite grand, and could be a lovely
place to have a bench to sit on and view the scenery and remember the
folks that chose this as their final resting place. We hope that someone
in the area will take this little cemetery under their wing and help out
whoever is doing the limited amount of care that is being done now, and
will work with the community to bring this gem of a cemetery back to its
prime. |