Cemetery tours planned for Sundays in August
Sites include West Ridgeway Cemetery, ‘Poorhouse Cemetery,’ St. Mary’s in Medina and Mount Albion
This striking headstone marks the Mason family plot which is adjacent to the chapel at West Ridgeway Cemetery.
By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian
“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 4, Number 23
The Orleans County Historical Association has scheduled its popular annual tour of cemeteries. Tours are held at 6 p.m. on Sundays during the month of August.
The first tour will be held Aug. 4 at West Ridgeway Cemetery, corner of Ridge Road and Marshall Road which has served as a burying ground since 1810 when the area was still under the jurisdiction of Genesee County. The tour will be conducted by Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian.
Details of the deaths of those buried at the “Poorhouse Cemetery” were recorded in a ledger maintained by the Superintendent.
The Orleans County “Poorhouse Cemetery” located at 14064 County House Rd. in Albion is the site of the second tour, which will be held Aug. 11. It will be presented by Tim Archer.
In his role as service-learning teacher at Albion Middle School, Mr. Archer spearheaded an ambitious project at the cemetery in 2010-2011. Students researched burial records, cleared the lot and reset headstones.
St. Mary’s Cemetery, Medina
Chris Busch, Medina local history buff, will lead a tour of St. Mary’s Cemetery, North Gravel Road, Medina on Aug. 18. The cemetery, which dates to 1858, is the burial place of Lt. John Butts, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for “courage, unflinching valor and inspiring actions” in Normandy, France on June 23, 1944.
Bill Lattin, retired Orleans County Historian, and Sue Starkweather Miller, Village of Albion Historian, will conduct the final tour in the series, at Mt. Albion Cemetery on Rt. 31 on Aug. 25. Another Orleans County Medal of Honor recipient, Charles D. Harris, who was honored for service during the Apache Wars in 1869, is buried there.
Cemeteries contain a treasure trove of information; we hope you will join us as we unearth some. Tours are free of charge, but goodwill donations are gratefully accepted.
