Pilgrims Rest Cemetery Entrance *

A sign that was erected in late March 2011 by Baxter County Sheriff Department's inmate program at the entrance of the Pilgrims Rest Cemetery.

The sign is attached to a large oak tree that the cemetery entrance curves around. Picture provided by Chief Deputy, Captain Jeff Lewis.

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The Pilgrim's Rest Cemetery is in the Monkey Run Community on the east side of Baxter County Road Number 511 around one fourth mile south of the intersection of that road and Baxter County Road Number 9 (also known as the Monkey Run Road). The original Pilgrim's Rest School was located at the cemetery. Pilgrim's Rest School District was Baxter County School District Number 6. School was held at Pilgrim's Rest from 1877 until 1965. School was first held there in a small log building at the cemetery. That building was replaced by a two storied clapboard building at the same site. Later a native stone building was constructed a mile northwest of the cemetery. As a result, the cemetery now lies on a small knoll without any school or church building on the premises.

When the name is printed, it sometimes has an apostrophe (Pilgrim's Rest Cemetery) and sometimes it does not (as the sign shows). At one point in time, the community became known as Pleasant Valley and for awhile, the cemetery was referred as Pleasant Valley Cemetery.

Some reports indicate that a concrete slab covering a rock pen marks the first grave in the cemetery. That concrete slab does not contain a date, but the following inscription is printed in the slab:
BOY
RICHARD
PICHARD
In Mary Ann Messick's History of Baxter County, she noted that the oldest marked grave was behind the concrete and rock tomb, and that the stone was handmade, smoothly carved of sandrock, with the top rounded and the corners peaked. She indicated that the name was worn away, but the death date was June 1, 1888. The tombstone is still standing, but the date that was apparently visible in 1973 has now eroded away.

Miss Messick also told of a mass grave in the cemetery that contained the ashes of three children burned to death in 1929. According to her account of the story, in January 1929, a Mr. Farlen and a neighbor girl, Edie May Floyd, were caring for his six children while his wife was away with her youngest child visiting relatives in Iowa. The six children were sleeping in the attic of their one room cabin along with three of Edie Mae's brothers and sisters when the cabin caught fire. All escaped except Velma Farlen, age 15; Jerry Farlen, age 6; and Frankie Floyd, age 16. There is a small marker showing Velma Farlin born 1912 and Jerry Farlin born 1921, died 1928. Within recent years, a marker has been erected showing Frank Floyd born around 1911, died January 2, 1928.

The Marler family has the most graves in the cemetery, but a number of other pioneer families like the Barnetts, Carsons, Dilbecks, Fisks, Hodges, Powells, Reeds, Staffords, Whites, and Youngs also have numerous burials at Pilgrim's Rest.

(Photo courtesy of Jeff Lewis)

Contributed on 4/3/11 by maxparnell
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Record #: 502249

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