Locality:
Realty Map: 250-1-1.5 Cultural
Affiliation: Euro-American
USGS Map:
Grid Locus: I-12 Elevation: 1000 feet
UTM Easting: 585940 Aspect: Flat
UTM Northing: 4125370
Site Dimensions:
19.5 by 30 feet
Survey Description:
Site consists of a small family cemetery with at least 11 graves. All of the observed graves were marked by
recently repaired and reset inscribed headstones. All observed graves are oriented to the
east. Other graves may be present. Site has been enclosed by a modern chain-link
fence and is covered with mowed grass.
Historic plantings were not observed on the site. Site was field inspected, photographed, and
grave marker inscriptions were transcribed and compared to previous
documentation. Site size was derived by
measuring the horizontal extent of the surrounding fence.
Survey Date: 12/98
Field Notes: _x_Yes ___No
Photographs: _x_Yes ___No
References:
1986
Works Progress Administration of
Document #64.
Additional Comments:
Assigned temporal period was based on the 1825 through 1862 range of
death dates inscribed on observed headstones.
However, other interments may be present in the cemetery and these may
reflect an earlier or more recent use of the site. The cemetery is not marked on the USGS Salem
map, but a 30 by 98.92 feet preserve containing the cemetery is marked on local
realty maps. Site is located in an
industrial park. During park development
the cemetery was in very poor condition with all stones toppled and covered in
the high weeds of a former pasture. The
cemetery preserve was established during development of the industrial park.
This cemetery was initially surveyed in 1936 by the Works
Progress Administration of Virginia and recorded as the “
The RVHS also surveyed the cemetery and used oral history and
the WPA file to document biographical information pertaining eight graves in
cemetery that predated 1921 (1986:
142). Biographical information
was recorded for Hannah Brown, Esther Gish, Catherine Houtz, Elizabeth Houtz,
Henry Houtz, John Houtz, Salome Houtz, and Susan Houtz. The RVHS reported,
“stones here are so scattered and broken there is no way to tell where the
cemetery was originally . . .”. All of
the headstones recorded by the WPA were also recorded by RVHS, and all of the
stones recorded by both of these earlier surveys were also observed during the
1998 site inspection.
Houtz
Cemetery (continued)
In 1997, the City of Salem retained Radford University
Professor Clifford Boyd and his students in his archaeological field school to
conduct excavations at the cemetery. The
goals of the excavation were to determine number and location of interments in
the cemetery, and to determine site size.
This work also resulted in the recovery of numerous headstones. Following the fieldwork, the City enclosed
the discovered graves with a chain-link fence and members of the Houtz family
and City representatives repaired the recovered headstones and reset each in
the cemetery. The results of the
archaeological survey were not available for inclusion in this report. Information presented here was derived from a
site inspection immediately after repaired headstones were reset in the
cemetery.
Marker Inscriptions:
Bold print indicates information missing form a broken
marker but recorded by the RVHS.
Hannah Brown In
memory Esther
Born of Wife
of
Sept. 27, 1795, Henry
____ Abraham
Gish
Died Aged
48 yrs. Died
____ 30, 1869
Aged
About
50 years.
Salome Henry
Houtz Hester
J.
Daughter of Born Daughter
of
Henry & Susan Oct. 18, 1797 Henry & Susan
Houtz Died Houtz
Born Feb.
21, 1860. Born
Oct. 25, 1824.
Aged. Died
About 1 year.
Catherine A. John
Daughter of Son
of Daughter
of
Henry & Susan J.C. & S. Henry & Susan
Houtz Houtz Houtz
Born Born Born
Died Died Died
Jan. 23, 1851 Apr.
5, 1862
SALLVW. HOUTZ
(inscribed fieldstone,
outline parts of the
inscription that were
covered by recently
applied cement)