Date: May 5, 2001
Cemetery: Middlebrook Cemetery
Established: 1802
Street: Route 89 North
City: Wattsburg-three miles away
Township: Venango
County: Erie
State: PA
Nation: USA
Zip: 16442
Nearby: Corner of Half Moon Road and Route 89
Reached by: Road-public
Location: Rural-woods
Land: Hillside
Water: No
Features: Two large pine trees in the front. Located in a grove
of maple trees.
Sign: Yes
Land Type: Public
Access: Open
Enclosure: None
Gate: None
Status: Abandoned
Size: Medium
Unmarked graves: Yes
Gravestones: twelve
Broken gravestones: Yes
Toppled gravestones: Yes
Buried gravestones: Yes
Removed Gravestones: Yes
Weather problems: No
Pollution problems: No
Oldest grave: 9/9/1909
Newest grave: 12/22/1879
Association: No
Records: Yes
Inventory: Yes
Records location: Tina Curtis-1998; Mrs. Burton Crane prior to
1825
Condition: Cemetery in danger of destruction
Vandalized: Yes
Police report: No
VA: Gravestones-Overturned
VA: Gravestones-Broken
VA: Gravestones-Stolen
Overgrowth: Problem-Access
Vegetation: Trees
Vegetation: Ground-Cover
Drainage: Good
Problem: Apathy
Problem: Disintegrating Headstones
Work Status: Cemetery cleaned
Owner: Cemetery
Use:
Bordering: Residential
Change: Same
Reason:
Visited: Occasionally
Archeology: No
Contacted: Wattsburg Area Historical Society & Mercyhurst
College.
Other Information
Middlebrook Cemetery was abandoned before 1884 according to the
"History of Erie County" written that year. It says that many
of the stones and remains were removed to other cemeteries: i.e.-William
Allison was removed to Union Cemetery at Phillipsville. A stone was
placed at the front of the cemetery in 1926 commemorating the 125th anniversary
of the Middlebrook Church which once stood on the property. According to
the oldest records, many stones are gone. One look at the landscape
shows that many graves have been dug up and were left unfilled as the
terrain is very "hilly". Presently, the youth of the North
East First Presbyterian Church are caring for the grounds which were
cleaned last fall. Mercyhurst College is presently preparing a map of
the topography of the cemetery and are hoping to get a magnometer to
find where the graves are actually located since most of the stones sit
against trees not on actual grave sites.
Support
Catherine Pedler (Professor) at Mercyhurst College First Presbyterian
Church of NorthEast
Submitted by:
name: Tina Curtis
Email: tintlc@aol.com
