Cemetery: Columbus Cemetery
Other:
Sign: Yes
Street: SE edge of Columbus
City: Columbus Township:
County: Adams
State: Illinois
Nation: U. S.
Zip: 62320
lat ns: N
lat h:
lat mmss:
long ew: W
long h:
long mmss:
Status: Abandoned
Size: Medium
Directions: Quincy on 104 East past airport & further
                   on it will show you where to turn to go to Columbus.

Directions from the Adams County Genealogical Society:

Columbus Cemetery is located at SE edge of Columbus, Illinois, NW 1/4 Section 18, Columbus Township

Type: Road-public
Location: Rural

Terrain: Hillside
Waters Source: Yes Kathy says she didn't see any water source and she was     just at the cemetery on August 03, 2005.
Features: Lots of trees with branches down on the Tombstones,
               roadway & brush growing over the tombstones almost covering
                them
 Property: Public
 Access: Open
 Enclosure: None
 Gate: Locks
 Established: No date, but is considerably one of the older ones in Adams
                     County. Guessing earl 1800's
 Gravestones: 700
 Oldest:
 Newest:
 Removed: No
 Relocated: No
 Repairs: No
 Methods: None
 Restoration: No
 Association: No
 Records: Yes
 Inventory: Yes
 Availability: Great River Genealogical Society Approx. 988--Quincy  Public  

                       Library-Quincy, Il
 Landscaping: No
 Paths: No
 Trees: Yes
 Crypts: No
 Fencing: No---was only thing left is the front gate.
 Brickwork: No
 Ironwork: No
 Sculpture: No
 Fountains: No
 Roads: No
 Buildings: No
 Cement: yes
 Granite: yes
 Marble: yes
 Native: Unsure
 Slate: yes
 Others: yes
 Wood: Unsure
 Materials: Unsure
 Architectural: Unsure
 Angels: yes
 Draperies: No
 Fraternal: yes
 Hands: yes
 Lambs: yes
 Monograms: Unsure
 Plants: Unsure
 Photos: No-----Kathy Mills sent me some and will be having more put up on the county site as she and I together are going to maintain the Adams County Cemetery Page.  Kathy used to live here and visits here frequently.
 Religious: yes
 Scrollwork: No
 Urns: yes
 Carvings: No
 Condition: Cemetery poorly maintained
 Unmarked: Yes
 Broken: Yes
 Toppled: Yes
 Disintegrating: Yes
 Buried: Unsure
 Weather: Unknown
 Pollution: Yes
 Vandalized: Yes
 Report: No
 VA1: Gravestones-Overturned
 VA2: Gravestones-Broken
 VA3:
 VA4:
 VA5:
 Overgrowth:
 Overgrowth1: Problem-Access
 Overgrowth2: Graves-Disturbing
 Overgrowth3: Gravestones-Disturbing
 Overgrowth4: Gravestones-Damaging
 Ground Cover: Yes
 Moss:
 Vines: Yes
 Drainage: Good
 Problem1: Encroachment
 Problem2: Apathy
 Owner: Cemetery
 Use: Agricultural
 Bordering: Residential
 Change: Same
 Reason: Roads
 Visited: Occasionally
Archeology: No
Habitat: No
Contacted: There is nobody to contact & the last time was told that  maybe, just maybe some boy scouts might want to clean the cemetery up for some merit badges. ywan
 Name: Bobbie Lewis
 Email: rebelinpayson@webtv.net
 Date: 1 July 2005

 Surnames:
 Walker, Clothier, Roseberry, Oberling, Lepper, Rutledge, Richardson, 
Davis,  Barlow, Jackson, Akers, Gray, Kelly, Asher, Moore, Fisher, & others

Other Information:

 This cemetery is one of those, that if you went to visit,
you would set  down & cry, the condition is such, that tree limbs have
fallen over some  of the tombstones, grass is knee deep & you have to walk
thru the cemetery  as you can't drive & the brush has almost taken over some
of the  tombstones to where you can't even get to them to put
flowers on them.
 

From Kathy Mills:

In 1974 when the Adams County Genealogical Society read the tombstones here is what they said & found:

This cemetery is one of the older ones in Adams County, it is well maintained and has easy access. It does not say when it was canvassed, but I'm guessing like all the others about 1974. There were 25 small stones with initials (footstones) found in a ditch and they could not be matched up. Also, found in the ditch, the tombstone of WILLNESS, Anna S. w/o G. M. d 16 Jun 1889 76y 5m 24d; J. G., W. B., G. M. W., (there was a G. M. Willis, d: Feb 1877 ae 67 yrs listed as living in area and probably buried there); P. R., J .S., -.B., S. B. P., C. W .S., M. A. M., F. M. P., S. E. R., H. P., J .S., J.P., J. J., J. W. Mc, E. C., J. K., H. S. D., J. M. T., R. L. T., D. H., W. N., E. M. N., M. E. J.
 

Support:

 I have no idea who you would contact.

Foxie's Note: First contact the township officials. If get nowhere, then then the only other recourse is to organzie a clean up the cemetery yourself.  Contact people who have relatives buried there, the Boy Scouts in your local area; but they will need help and adult supervision.  Let me know if anything gets done on this. Email is below.  And if all else fails contact the members of the County Board, the Newspapers in the area, the TV people.  Get the word out.  We have to step up and do something or someday these will all be lost to us & future generations.  Thanks Bobbie and Kathy on this.  Bobbie for the report and Kathy for being kind enough to go and take photos for me. 

A picture is worth a thousands words.

Photos:    Below are photos sent to me via the email from Kathy Mills, who right at the moment is residing in Adams County, IL, but will be moving out until next year pretty soon. Thanks Kathy and I know Bobbie Lewis Will thank you, too.

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