It’s been nearly 12 years since local grassroots efforts to preserve one of Wheeling’s oldest surviving cemeteries began. Overlooking the city from atop Wheeling Hill, Mount Wood Cemetery is Wheeling’s only cemetery listed in the National Register of Historic Places, though for many years it was the unfortunate victim of neglect and vandalism. But just as Wheeling broadly has taken strides in recent years to revitalize its culture and infrastructure for the future, so too have dedicated individuals worked tirelessly towards preserving its past.
A Historic Landmark with a Breathtaking View
The cemetery was established in 1848 during the rural Romantic era, a period marked by growing pains with the onset of industrialization, and a longing for the comforts of nature and rural life. And for this reason, you won’t find many views of the Ohio River, and the sweeping Northern Panhandle landscape, better than the view from Mount Wood.
Early Restoration Efforts
As the wear and tear of age built up over the decades, Wheeling Heritage and a committed group of local volunteers, led by Bekah Karelis, began the arduous task of reversing some of the damage done to the cemetery in 2013. Since then, thousands of gravestones have been cleaned, reset and leveled, and the daunting task of mapping out the cemetery’s 14 hillside acres has been underway.
The Ohio County Cemeteries Foundation Takes the Lead
As of 2023, these renewed renovation efforts have been spearheaded by the Ohio County Cemeteries Foundation who not only continue to preserve Mount Wood Cemetery, but have expanded their operation to include other cemeteries across the county that are in need of repair. Over the past year, the foundation welcomed dozens of new volunteers, and provided them with the necessary cemetery conservation training to begin reassembling monuments. And Rantiff, a professional engineering firm was hired to reset some of the heaviest, and largest monuments at Mount Wood. Across two work sessions in the summer and fall of 2024, Rantiff restored eleven of these monuments. The repairs were paid for with money raised for the Mt. Wood Fund at the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley.
Expanding Restoration Efforts Across the County
The Cemeteries Foundation also hosted its first work session at Peninsula Cemetery last July, formerly the third largest cemetery in the state. Volunteers restored 175 veteran’s tombstones, and 50 more belonging to civilians, in addition to the resetting and reassembling of two major monuments, one of which belonged to Charles Fleming, a veteran killed by friendly fire in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War.
They closed out work sessions for the year at Stone Church Cemetery in Elm Grove, whose founding predates even Mount Wood by nearly fifty years. Among those buried at Stone Church are some 650 veterans, including 16 Revolutionary War veterans, among them founder Colonel Archibald Woods, whose farm became the Woodsdale neighborhood. His over 1500 pound obelisk was at long last reset on its base
We’ve had a very productive year of restoration and documentation at the three cemeteries in our current focus. But in truth we are only scratching the surface. There are more than 35 cemeteries of varying size in Ohio County that have no financial support. Our partnership with the City and the enthusiastic response of so many great volunteers has set the stage for more progress. We’ll keep chipping away at years of neglect to make these sacred places appealing destinations for visitors. (Cemeteries Foundation president Jay Frey)
Looking Ahead: Goals for 2025
Setting their sights on the new year, the Foundation began 2025 with a book sale, courtesy of Wheeling Heritage, on the first floor of the Wheeling Artisan Center, with proceeds going towards replenishing the Mt. Wood funds they spent the year prior. Additionally, a new training workshop was hosted where volunteers learned how they could contribute to the ongoing project of documenting and mapping cemeteries.
This year, the Foundation plans to restore both the Bradford Mausoleum and a recently collapsed stone retaining wall at Mt. Wood Cemetery. They’ve also requested that the City of Wheeling pave the roads in Mount Wood, Peninsula and Stone Church Cemeteries. While they are looking to the city for further financial support, the Foundation is always in need of volunteers and additional donations.
