Cemetery Name

Fort Ancient Hilltop Cemetery

Township

Status

First Known Burial

General Condition

Tombstone Condition

OGS Cemetery #

Location:

It is located in Section 4 Township 5E Range 3N on the north side of State Route 350 about 2.5 miles east of State Route 123 and opposite the entrance to Camp Kern.

Coordinates:

STR/ VMD

Property Account:

Parcel ID:

Map:

• USGS GNIS - Bethel Cemetery; FID #1037905
• Google Map at coordinates 39° 24' 21"N, 84° 06' 26"W
• Warren County Auditor for "Cemetery", Property Account # 5323606, Parcel ID 13041000200]
• Aerial Image of the cemetery location from Windows Live Local
• Range 3 Township 5 Section 4 from Warner's 1867 Warren County Ohio Wall Map

Cemetery History

The Old Bethel Burial Grounds (or Fort Ancient Hilltop Cemetery) is an inactive cemetery now maintained by Turtlecreek Township. The old church building next to the cemetery is said to date back to the 1850s. The current owners indicate that the church was disbanded in the early 1920s and converted into a residence. It is now occupied by an antique shop.

Page 488 of Beers 1882 History of Warren County contains the following passage in an article about the Turtle Creek Baptist Church in Lebanon.
"In May, 1810, seventeen members were dismissed “that they might form a separate church.” The minutes give no further light, but our information is that this is the church called “Bethel” near Fort Ancient. This church has now its connection with the Anti-Mission Association."
This church is also mentioned on Page 263 and Page 491 of Beers 1882 History of Warren County.

The following is written in Chapter IV of the History of the Miami Baptist Association, prepared by A. H. [Anthony Howard] Dunlevy in 1869.
"In 1810, Bethel Church was added. This church still exists in connection with the anti-mission association. In two years after its organization Hezekiah Stites became their pastor; and has been continued such to this time, 1857."
Chapter VI of the same work has the following:
"HEZEKIAH STITES has been the pastor of the Bethel Church, six miles east of Lebanon, from about 1812, to the present time, 1857. He is mentioned in connection, with the Columbia Church, where he was baptized in 1801. In early times, he preached a short time for the Staunton Church. He is now aged, and lame from a fall, but still preaches occasionally."

Cemetery Transcriptions

• D.A.R. Turtlecreek Chapter & Warren County Historical Society (available at the Historical Society Library)

  • Early Vital Records, Volume 4 pages 44-48 & Volume 10 pages 35-41

• Warren County Genealogical Society

  • Pages 405-409 of Vol 6 Old Cemeteries in eight townships. See on-line Name Index
    records 187 burials from a 1984 reading of the cemetery combined with 16 records from other sources.

  • Only a portion of the gravestones in this cemetery have been photographed for the "Warren County Virtual Cemetery" Project.  Our thanks to Arnold H. Breitenbach, Carol Conner Donovan, Margaret Jo Culberson, Cleo Holmes, Jeff Smith and Arne H Trelvik who have all contributed gravestone photos for this cemetery.  See Name Index
    YOU CAN HELP!!!
    If you have a photo of any additional gravestones, please consider sharing them with the project.  You may email them to Arne H Trelvik.  High Resolution photos would be appreciated, if available.

• Other Known Transcriptions

  • Online List of 152 burials by Arnold H. Breitenbach can be seen at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~a16566/ftancient.html . Arnie's gggg grandparents, William and Phebe Crosley, are buried in the cemetery. Arnie writes, "William's grave is unique, as he is buried with his son-in-law, Abner Stites, as Abner, William Crosley, and his wife Phebe all died of cholera and had to be buried in a hurry. We found a photo of William's grave there in Lebanon historical society as it was published in a news paper because of it's uniqueness."

Gravestone Images

Gravestone photos for the Warren County, Ohio Virtual Cemetery Project are being posted to the Warren County OHGenWeb Project
To view images ===> Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery
To submit images ==> email to Arne H. Trelvik at atrelvik@gmail.com [please send high resolution digital images if available]