First Death in Ephraim - First of its Kind on Waymarking.com

Ephraim Pioneer Cemetery

In 1854, Ephraim's first settlers erected a one and one half acre fort for housing and protection against Indian attacks. A cemetery was not included in their plans. The first pioneer to die was Mr. Manwaring. Permission had been granted to use Allred Settlement's (Spring City's) cemetery, and the funeral party was en route to that site when a warning came of a threatened Indian attack. Instructions were given to dig a grave, bury the body, and return to Fort Ephraim. This burial took place about two miles north of Ephraim and is the present site of Ephraim Pioneer Cemetery. It was used almost exclusively until May 1905. Mr. Manwaring's grave site is unknown as are other burials recorded in journals but not on grave markers.

Numerous markers bear names of young children, as various diseases and malnutrition took a terrible toll in those early years. Ornate oolite, granite, and simple wooden markers dot the cemetery, most engraved with loving words, poetry, and decorative emblems. A striking granite marker designates the burial site of seven poineers who were massacred by Indians in 1865. Seven Ephraimites, who drowned in Funks' Lake in 1878, are buried nearby.

For many years, the cemetery had an unkempt appearance until 1990 when the present transformation occurred under the direction of the Ephraim Pioneer Cemetery Committee.

1995 · · · No. 483 · · · Fort Ephraim Camp

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