Cemetery Name

Universalist Church Cemetery of Springboro

Township

Status

First Known Burial

General Condition

Tombstone Condition

OGS Cemetery #

Location:

1/4 mile North of Springboro, East Side of Route 741 1 block north of Route 73 at Parker Drive in lot located behind the building at 70 North Main Street.
[a right of way provides access to the cemetery between the buildings at 60 N. Main and 70 N. Main.]

Coordinates:

STR/ VMD

Property Account:

Parcel ID:

Map:

• USGS GNIS - Not included in the GNIS system

• Google Map at coordinates 39° 33' 31.03"N, 84° 13' 54.59"W

• Warren County Auditor for Fellowship Cemetery, Property Account # 526622, Parcel ID 04071020120] - 2.986 acres
  Warren County Auditor for "Cemetery", Property Account # 526622, Parcel ID 12132000220] - outlot #6 in Springboro, Ohio

• Aerial Image of the Universalist Cemetery location from Windows Live Local

• Range 5 Township 2 Section 7 from Warner's 1867 Warren County Ohio Wall Map

• Springboro Universalist Cemetery - Website by Terry Easton

Cemetery History

The Springboro Universalist Church was built on the north end of town in 1842 on land purchased from the Gregg family. The property is shown on Lot 5 on the 1867 wall map but is now known as outlot 6 in Warren County Records.  The cemetery was located in a 1/2 acre lot behind the church.   In 1837, Nicholas Fye age 81 was the first to be buried in this cemetery.  A wooden frame church was built in 1842 by William Gregg. In 1844 typhoid fever ravage the town of Springboro taking many lives.  Some of the victims who died and were buried in this cemetery included: four Greggs (Samuel, his wife, his son George and granddaughter Pheeby Ann), Samuel Clannen, and his grand son Arthur Millard.   By 1850 the cemetery was 40% filled.  The last burial occurred in 1867.  In 1905 the congregation built a new stone church at 300 South Main Street but the membership fell off to 13 people by 1920 and the church was folded and so did the cemetery.  The cemetery fell into ruin and was over run by weeds.  By 1983, Ralph & Helen Hutt and Chet & Betty Dunn visited this cemetery and stated that only nine markers were visible.  By 1992 only four stones were found.  With the aid of Springboro citizens and a Boy Scout troop work was begun to restored the cemetery and over 60 markers were set in place.  Since this time the cemetery has been vandalized numerous times. A project to restore and reset broken tombstones (thanks to the efforts of Terry Easton - see below.) began in the spring of 2009.  This cemetery is in much better condition now.   Warren County Genealogical Society members who visited the site in 1983 only found 9 markers in the overgrown cemetery. 
 

Cemetery Transcriptions

• D.A.R. Turtlecreek Chapter & Warren County Historical Society (available at the Historical Society Library)

  • Early Vital Records Volume 7, pages 71-72

  • Early Vital Records Volume 10, pages 79-80

• Warren County Genealogical Society

  • Warren County Cemetery Records Volume 6 pages 357-358

  • Our thanks to WCGS Society member, Terry Easton, who is spearheading a reclamation project for this historic cemetery. 
    A Restoration Clinic was held on May 31st, 2009. 

Gravestone Images

Gravestone photos for the Warren County, Ohio Virtual Cemetery Project are being posted to the Warren County OHGenWeb Project
To view images ===> Universalist Cemetery
To submit images ==> email to Arne H. Trelvik at atrelvik@gmail.com [please send high resolution digital images if available]