October 2018 THE BEACON Page 5A
Hidden Treasures Abound Throughout River View Cemetery
Edifices like the Stevens family mausoleum are not only personal memorials , but of historic and architectural importance .
Five ‘ Elegant Ladies ’ are located on the grounds of River View . Each one is unique and lovely .
Visible in the distance , beyond the military headstones and through the trees , is the Triple Whipple Bridge , spanning Laughery Creek .
Continued from page 4A to find anything . I ’ m trying to find a way to mark the first one on the end of the row and go up , but it ’ s really hard .” This sometimes confusing method of arranging grave sites is similar to the challenging placement of burials in Paupers ’ Field , located near the rear of the property . Mr . Nocks explains , “ You can see a few stones scattered around here . They ’ re just placed in there randomly , but I think I found out a way where I can almost figure out how some people were buried in there . From the burial permit numbers , it looks like they ’ ve buried this person very close to that person , but I
Modest field stones , ornately carved granite , or respectful columbariums - every memorial is a tribute to a life , a reminder of a loved one lost .
don ’ t actually know where the rows start ; a lot of the stones are just placed there .”
Prior to the establishment of the Indiana Territory , and long before River View Cemetery was even imagined , numerous religious , burial and ceremonial mounds were part of the landscape . According to information from Indiana Landmarks , Inc ., two undisturbed prehistoric mounds have been identified within the cemetery , one of which is clearly marked near the former chapel .
Located so near the Ohio River , the bucolic name of the cemetery must have been easily agreed upon by the founding members , but River View was constructed near the site of the horrific Lochry ’ s Defeat or Massacre . During the Revolutionary War , Archibald Lochry and his men hailing from Pennsylvania found themselves hungry , tired and separated from a larger contingent headed by George Rogers Clark . On the banks of what is known today as Laughery Creek , Lochry and his men were either killed or taken prisoner by members of the American Indian and British forces , led by Joseph Brant on August 24 , 1781 .
Ninety-three years later , in
August 1874 , the steamboat Pat Rogers was operating near the confluence of the Ohio River and Laughery Creek , when bales of cotton stacked on the lower deck caught fire . Of the 100 people onboard , anywhere from 20-50 passengers and crew died or were missing . Many drowned in the Ohio River despite efforts to rescue them by boat . A number of the victims of the disaster were buried in River View Cemetery , very near their homes and relatives .
Prior to the establishment of the Mount Auburn Cemetery , Cambridge , Massachusetts in 1831 , when family members passed away , they were buried in small churchyards or family plots on private land . As the population increased and the graveyards became over-crowded , municipalities saw the need for public burial grounds . When River View Cemetery in Aurora and other ‘ rustic ’ cemeteries were designed , it was as much for the living as the dead . Often cemeteries were considered public parks or arboretums with their serpentine paths , beautiful sculptures and monuments , fountains , and lawns ideal for family picnics . Some cemeteries allowed hunting or even carriage racing on the grounds . Although this blending of recreation and reverence might shock 21st-century sensibilities , death was not so distant , not so removed from day to day life in the eighteen- or even nineteen-hundreds .
Today , River View Cemetery ’ s lovely trees and rolling hills offer solace to mourners and promise repose for the deceased . A new columbarium was recently installed with a second specifically designed for fallen heroes under consideration . But the years are catching up with River View and volunteers are
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY BRUNCH needed to help maintain the grounds , to care for the fading stones and to ensure that this gentle place is preserved for future generations . For more information , please visit http :// aurorariverviewcemetery . com / index . html
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