Memorial Park of
Bedford County
Formerly the Presbyterian Cemetery
The Presbyterian Cemetery was given to the church by the Penn family in 1766, with the first burial taking place there in 1772. Because of its location near the center of town, it was soon in general use by the people of Bedford. By 1879 it was declared full and closed to new burials, although the last burial took place in 1920 in the private Barclay family plot.
In the early 1900's, the cemetery was allowed to become overgrown. A WPA project in 1938 cleaned and repaired the site, and since then has been maintained by the Borough. In 1991, an arboretum was created with the variety of trees found in it, and in 1994 the Memorial Park Conservancy was created to preserve the property and its many old and historic gravestones.
Among the people buried in this cemetery are:
Colonel Levin Powell of Virginia
Founder of Middleburg, Virginia, died in 1810 while visiting the Bedford Springs Hotel - for his health.Hugh Barclay
A Lt. Colonel in the Revolutionary War and Bedford' first postmaster.Samuel Davidson
Revolutionary War veteran and Bedford County's first treasurer.Charles McDowell
Founder of the Bedford Gazette.Ann and Thomas Anderson
Parents of John Anderson, founder of the Bedford Springs Hotel.Contributed for use by the Bedford County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/~bedford/)
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