Poor Farm Cemetery

Bill Grimes

Those involved in restoring a long-abandoned cemetery near the site of old Effingham County Poor Farm south of Effingham would like to see the project completed as soon as possible.

“I’d like to see the project completed this year,” said Effingham County Board member Larry Vahling, member of an ad hoc committee organized to oversee restoration of the old cemetery.

Vahling, chairman of the board’s Tax & Finance Committee, said the county could spend up to $1,000 to finance the restoration effort.

The old poor farm — where many downtrodden souls lived at various times — was located on the east bank of Coon Creek near the present location of the Effingham County Memorial Airport. After the farm itself was shut down around 1940, the adjacent cemetery was effectively abandoned. By the time county officials learned of its existence and set up the ad hoc committee, the 3-acre cemetery site had long been taken over by various types of plants.

That’s where Dick Bence and a number of Effingham County probationers took over. Bence, the county’s public service work supervisor, took several groups of public service workers to the site this summer, where they cleared the site of most of its foliage.

Percival said the clearing effort was particularly impressive because public service workers are limited to hand tools, such as hand saws, hatchets and a push mower.

“They’ve done an excellent job with what has been done,” Percival said, adding that the county highway department also assisted in the clearing effort.

After the public service workers started clearing the land, teams from the Effingham County K-9 Search and Rescue team descended on the site this fall in an effort to determine where the graves were located.

Human handlers worked with specially trained dogs to find remains of those buried at the site.

“The dogs were trained to find cadavers,” Percival said. “It doesn’t matter how old they are.”

Percival said the dogs are slated to return this coming spring, weather permitting.

“The air temperature has to be warmer than the soil temperature for the dogs to do their jobs,” he said.

Still to be determined is how the public will access the site. Committee member Rich Raber said the site could conceivably be entered from the north, west or south. To enter the site from the east, one would have to drive down airport runways.

Visitors would have to access airport property to enter the cemetery site from the north, but Raber and Percival both said the access could be crafted in such a way as to not interfere with airport operations.

Percival said Coon Creek, which runs northwest to southeast immediately west of the cemetery site, could be used as a natural boundary.

“If we had a fence from the edge of airport property to the creek, that would shut off all access (to the site),” he said.

Raber said the best long-term option might be to come in from U.S. 45, though the county would need to secure an easement from the church that stands between the highway and the creek.

“It’s level terrain and a foot bridge could be built over the creek,” he said. “The parking area would be visible from the highway.”

Percival said the financially-strapped county would not likely be able to afford to develop the west access for several years because of financial constraints. He said he would approach the Airport Commission for permission to develop access from the north through airport property.

“That’s the quickest and easiest way to go,” he said. “We can aim for something off 45 later on.”

Raber said a south access off Dutch Lane is almost completely impractical because of steep terrain and the need to go through private land.

Percival said the whole point of the project is to show respect for those buried at the site.

“History is part of it, but we also need to have a respectful burial place,” he said.

“We think it’s a shame that nothing has been done about it,” Vahling added.

While most committee members are nearing retirement age or beyond, one member is interested in carrying on the pursuit of local history to a new generation.

“I’m the young one who wants to learn all this stuff,” said 30-year-old Stephanie Mitchell. “If I don’t do it, who’s going to?

“There’s a lot of knowledge around this room,” Mitchell added.

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