Directions:
This memorial area is behind the Avon Town Hall, which is on the north side
of US 36, west of the intersection with SR 267. It is on a hill to the east
of the parking lot, directly behind the North Lawn Cemetery.
Corners:
NW: N39°45.813’ W86°24.409’
SE: N39°45.809’ W86°24.402’
Approximate Center:
N39°45.811’ W86°24.405’ or
N394549 W862424
Condition:
This memorial contains some of the stones from the
Merritt Cemetery
, but no graves. At the original cemetery, vandals toppled most of
the gravestones down a hill. The landowner brought some of the remaining
stones into his barn and stored them. The stones were moved, repaired and
set in a landscaped memorial by Andrew Prescott, Eagle Scout of BSA Troop
307. There are nine headstones and four footstones. There are
some minor problems, such as messy break repair, questionable cleaning methods,
and the setting of footstones as if they were separate headstones. The main
problem is the ethics of removing grave markers from a cemetery without removing
the graves or at least documenting their location. This is a serious
issue that has resulted in essentially losing the cemetery and the people
buried there. It could also result in the site being developed because
no visible signs remain to identify the graves. It is amazing that
no one alerted authorities that further vandalism was being committed due
to the gravestones being removed from their original site.
All known burials have been linked to
Find-A-Grave
with biographies and headstone photos.