Cincinnati pioneers final resting place

The American Revolution from different perspectives Pt. 4

Jul 25, 2024

For the fourth and final part of The American Revolution from different perspectives, my sister and I visited the Pioneer Cemetery in the Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood of Cincinnati. It is the oldest cemetery in Hamilton County, Ohio with the first headstone in the cemetery dating back to 1797. There are Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War soldiers buried there.1

The Pioneers

In 1788, Major Benjamin Stites, a Revolutionary war soldier, along with twenty-six men and women, founded the area of Columbia, which was the first European settlement in what would later become Hamilton County, Ohio.

These pioneers established a Baptist church on the site where the cemetery currently sits.

In 1889, a pillar from a recently demolished post office was erected at the cemetery to honor the pioneers and the church they established.2

Remembering soldiers

In 2019, a memorial was built by the My GI Foundation, Inc. and Ohio Command Council National Association for Black Veterans, Inc. as a “testament for those who fought in the name of freedom, equality and against tyranny” from 1775-1865.

The caretakers

Currently, the cemetery is maintained by the Cincinnati Parks Department, but there are tributes on the grounds to two individuals who’ve played a significant role in preserving the cemetery. On the monument to Major Benjamin Stites, a plaque honors Russell Stites, his great grandson, who was the caregiver of the cemetery in the early 1900s. Near the entrance to the cemetery, there is a plaque honoring, Frederick L. Payne, the Director of Parks, who from 1967 -1971 restored the cemetery and created two volumes to record its history.3

Preservation challenges

I enjoyed the visit to this historic Cincinnati cemetery that I had never heard of until recently. In observing that some of the graves seemed to be partially absorbed by the earth, it made me think of the importance of making the effort to acknowledge the events of our past which can otherwise be lost to time.