Webmasters Comments

Johnson Cemetery

Spelling of the Name is a Question Unanswered.  The Plot Map Copy in my possession states: "Johnston". The name Johnson (without the T) is used throughout papers in the records of the cemetery as well as documents with the "T".  

• The article that follows (written by Mrs. Thornton) was written many years ago and was in the records of the Johnson Cemetery .  Since the article was written, many changes in the surroundings of the Cemetery have taken place—some by Man and some by Acts of God.

• The Agnes “Flood of 1972” nearly removed a portion of the cemetery at the same time as a Wing of Jones Memorial Hospital was lost.  Much of the embankment on the southern edge of the Cemetery was cut into by slides.  Almost all of the buildings mentioned in the article by Mrs. Thornton have been torn down, easements & right-of-ways allowed, and the Deed to the property has been transferred by the Bank to the Town of Wellsville which accepted the title with some reluctance, knowing that there was no other choice.

• Gone is the Lutheran Church (relocated to a new building on North Main Street; Gone is the Temple Theatre; and gone are the houses as well as West Genesee Street!  In their place is the Jones Memorial Hospital Parking Lot bordering the Johnson Cemetery .

• The Cemetery state of repair that was mentioned by Mrs. Thornton, as well as the beautiful old trees are a thing of the past. 

• Cemetery desecration has set in, the grass is mowed sporadically, and the stones are quickly becoming unreadable and/or broken if not missing. 

Sad, but, true;  many of the Oldest Cemeteries such as this one are forgotten because of lack of money to support their care, lack of interest, and a change in the attitude of today’s society. 

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