Old Methodist Cemetery Traditional Geocache

This “Old Methodist” cemetery belonged to Mount Airy’s Methodist Episcopal Church, South, after part of the 1831 Lebanon congregation moved to a new location on South Main Street in 1858. The cemetery and church were built on land donated from Elisha Banner’s plantation, and the earliest burial dates back to 1857.

 (FYI This geocache is NOT located IN an urn. Please do not disturb any graves or funeral/cremation urns!!) Local tradition says that the church’s bell, now housed in Trinity Episcopal’s belfry, tolled during funerals for every year of the deceased’s life. The cemetery acted as a town cemetery, not just for one for Methodists, and it was replaced by Oakdale Cemetery in 1892 when space began to run out. The church changed its name to Central United Methodist Church when it moved closer to the center of town in the 1890s, and the last burials at the Old Methodist Cemetery were made around the turn of the century.

This cache, part of the "Geocaching for History" program, was researched and placed by the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History.  The goal of this program is to encourage physical activity and exploration of the history of our community.