Had a curious drive down through the hinterlands of Washington County again. I was trying to find the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy's site at Enlow Fork and stumbled across this place.
You are not welcome at this little cemetery. The gates are wired shut, so you have to look in from outside an inhospitable chain link fence.
It's too bad. I couldn't look to see how old the stones were, and I was intrigued by the claim that this is the site of the "First Seceder Church" in Western PA. Sounds like a Scottish thing, fractious Presbyterians.
And yet, someone does lovingly maintain this little plot. I really wish I could have gotten a look at these many old headstones all lain together like paving stones. Were they collected up from various corners of the cemetery where they had fallen?
The entrance to the cemetery was also the driveway to this old farmhouse, which is completely surrounded by chain link, too. It looks like whoever lived here died about fifteen years ago, and their adult children--who surely live an hour away--are still putting off the task of going through all their junk.
In the meantime, the front porch has collapsed. Just look at all the stuff crammed into that carport. Unlike some abandoned houses, this one was not inviting, though there aren't any "No Trespassing" signs. Strangely, a dog started to bark at me from somewhere on the premises. Do they really keep a guard dog at this empty house to keep people from stealing the twenty milk jugs hanging on the clothesline? Poor dog. I'm not an animal lover, but dogs are social creatures and shouldn't be left alone in places like this.
No comments:
Post a Comment