Today in Wheeling History: August 20--Final notice given to Wheeling residents to move the bodies of their loved ones from the East Wheeling Cemetery by August 26th or "forever after hold their peace" (1895).
The Sixteenth Street Cemetery, also known as the East Wheeling Cemetery, received some of the bodies being moved from the old Hempfield Cemetery that was making way for an expanding Wheeling in the 1850s. Bodies were also moved to Mt. Wood, Catholic, and Peninsula cemeteries.
During the late 1880s, the East Wheeling Cemetery faced potential destruction due to neglect and reports of uncontrolled activities on the grounds, making it an undesirable burial site. In 1889, the Council Committee urged residents to relocate their deceased relatives. The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer noted in 1889 that bodies were being transferred from the East Wheeling Cemetery to othjer locations (usually Greenwood or Peninsula cemeteries), often in a well-preserved state. Desptie ongoing removal efforts, requests for relocation continued in newspapers until 1895. Af final opportunity for families to retrieve remains was given in August 1895, after which the East Wheeling Cemetery would undergo changes.
What was at one time the East Wheeling Cemetery is now the Elks/JB Chambers Memorial Recreational Park located at the intersection of 16th and McColloch streets. (https://tinyurl.com/3pp3wsc3) (https://tinyurl.com/5n8phta9)
The Sixteenth Street Cemetery, also known as the East Wheeling Cemetery, received some of the bodies being moved from the old Hempfield Cemetery that was making way for an expanding Wheeling in the 1850s. Bodies were also moved to Mt. Wood, Catholic, and Peninsula cemeteries.
During the late 1880s, the East Wheeling Cemetery faced potential destruction due to neglect and reports of uncontrolled activities on the grounds, making it an undesirable burial site. In 1889, the Council Committee urged residents to relocate their deceased relatives. The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer noted in 1889 that bodies were being transferred from the East Wheeling Cemetery to othjer locations (usually Greenwood or Peninsula cemeteries), often in a well-preserved state. Desptie ongoing removal efforts, requests for relocation continued in newspapers until 1895. Af final opportunity for families to retrieve remains was given in August 1895, after which the East Wheeling Cemetery would undergo changes.
What was at one time the East Wheeling Cemetery is now the Elks/JB Chambers Memorial Recreational Park located at the intersection of 16th and McColloch streets. (https://tinyurl.com/3pp3wsc3) (https://tinyurl.com/5n8phta9)
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