The Old Presbyterian Cemetery

The oldest cemetery in Waynesboro, which was the gravesite of many prominent early citizens, is located on Broad Street on a hillside behind what is currently the Purple Foot Restaurant.

In the center of the hillside stood a log church, which was built in 1798 by a small Presbyterian congregation. It was built as an outpost mission church, a branch of the Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church, and was served by the same minister.

Soon the Presbyterian congregation shared the church with a Methodist group until the Methodists built their own church in 1824. That same year the Presbyterian worshippers decided to replace the log church with a brick church and they held services at the new brick church until they built a larger one on Main Street, using many materials from the small brick church. That larger church passed through several hands and is currently occupied by the News Virginian newspaper, located at the top of Main Street hill.

Time has taken its toll on the cemetery. After World War II, in order to facilitate construction of Willow Springs Shopping Center, the sloping banks of the cemetery were cut back and fences were removed. Some of the graves were relocated to the new larger Riverview Cemetery, moss began to obscure the old gravestones, and children found a place to play.

In 2002 the Waynesboro Historic Commission undertook the project of identifying the remnants in the cemetery and found fallen gravestones, many in pieces, lying under a huge oak tree covered with poison ivy vines. Some stones reportedly had even been used for a garden path.

The Historical Commission enlisted the help of the city to move the fragments of gravestones from under the tree and they placed them in a row with faces up. Then the members of the Commission started the process of identification by supplying each stone a numbered tag. They then placed the location of each tagged stone on a map grid and proceeded to compile and alphabetized list of names. Numerous visits were required to do this.

Publishing the names and locations for future use by the public, and having a local blacksmith design and make a new fence and gate to further enhance the cemetery, are the final steps in this undertaking. It is hoped that this information and restoration of the cemetery location will remain as something of lasting significance for Waynesboro