Forrestville Cemetery

Pioneer Cemeteries and Their Stories,

Madison County, Indiana

Location: north side of 1650N, between CRs 350W and 450W

Boone Township in north-central Madison County is comprised of large expanses of farm land. The village of Rigdon is in the extreme northwest corner, but other than that, there are no other communities or civic centers. The tree-lined fields, unimpeded by cities and towns, gradually rise to a geographic high point in section 21. Here with only three or four houses in sight, the Forrestville Cemetery has a commanding view of the beauty of the surrounding Hoosier landscape.

There used to be a Forrestville hamlet. It and its cemetery were laid out in 1850 by pioneer settler Rev. John W. Forrest on land which he owned and donated. Forrestville had several houses, a church, and general store, but the hamlet existed for a very short time. In spite of the disappearance of the buildings, Forrestville Cemetery continued to be used by the neighboring farmers and the members of the reverend's Baptist Church which he organized in 1853. Once again, Rev. Forrest had donated the ground for the house of worship. Later, in 1860, Forrest also gave the township a piece of land for a new school next to the church.

The 1876 plat map for Boone Township shows only the cemetery on CR 1650N, sheltered on three sides by Rev. Forrest's 160 acres; there is not even a hint of Forrestville, the hamlet. The Baptist Church and school house #5 are seen in the northeast corner of the Forrest property with the north-south road having to angle around them. The Forrest home is designated as being back a long lane off of CR 450E. The Forrest farm with house, barns, fields, and woods is pictured on page 97 in the 1880 History of Madison County, Indiana.

Luna Forrest's reset gravestone is a genealogist's dream: "Luna C. wife of Elder John W. Forrest, died Sept. 1, 1872, aged 55 Y. 7M. & 15D." Below that is the biographical data that she was a respected member of the Baptist Church for twenty-five years. Under this information is a traditional verse from the Bible. Most of the stone is remarkably legible without having to be "chalked" or "rubbed."

In an early publication, Madison County historian Samuel Harden gives this description of Rev. John Forrest:

"...[Forrest] was born in Virginia in December 1810 and...arrived in that part of the county when it was quite new. There were no roads, no mill, the few first years after his arrival there. Mr. F. was blessed with a strong constitution, well fitted for pioneer life; one spring he was at no less than twenty-six log rollings, which required no small amount of physical ability. He has been a member and minister of the Baptist Church for many years... He served twelve years as Justice of the Peace, and acted as Swamp Land Commissioner, and is, at this writing, a candidate for the Legislature on the Grange ticket. He has always taken a strong temperance stand...and was the first Postmaster in the township... In person, he is rather under medium size, heavy built, low forehead, heavy eyebrows, and in height about five feet seven inches... As a public speaker Mr. F. can not be said to be eloquent, yet he is listened to with attention...as a minister."

James and wife Amanda Ross's gravestone is in a popular style for the mid-Victorians. A short, thick pillar is covered by a drape with tassels; the book on top is the Bible. The scrolled medallion on the front would have the family name. The right side, as one is facing the stone, gave the husband's statistics; the left had the wife's. The stone was placed between the graves. There are a number of stones of this style at Forrestville, but each is a little different in the details of design.

The land continues to rise to a geographic high point beyond the entrance of the cemetery.

Click here for a list in .pdf format of burials with headstones.