North Santa Rosa

COON HILL CEMETERYVisitation Day

November 19.      9-3

 • The Coon Hill Settlement consisted of a general merchandise store, stable, blacksmith shop, Pony Express Station, U.S. Post Office and a Church that alternated between Methodist and Baptist.

• Coon Hill is the oldest cemetery in northern Santa Rosa County. It originated around 1820, about the time of the first settlers.  

• The concrete wall was poured between 1895 & 1900. The sand and gravel used in construction of the wall was hauled from Diamond Creek, approximately ¾ of a mile, using slip scoops pulled by mules.  

• Prominent people buried at Coon Hill include:  

 2 Senators 2 Circuit riding Preachers 15 Civil War Veterans 2 Tax Assessors 3 Postmasters • Markers include ancestral names of Byrnes, Campbell, Davis, Diamond, Enfinger, Ezell, Hart, Howell, Lee, Magaha, Mayo, McCaskill, McDavid, McKinnon, McMillan, Miner, Pearson, Penton, Pyburn, Reynolds, Rutherford, Salter, Savell, Severson, Slade, Wilkinson, Williams, and others.

• Oldest Marker – Williams, Margaret – b. Dec. 22, 1802 d. Mar. 19, 1836 “Florida became a state in 1845. Margaret McMillan Williams’ grave and the town are dated prior to Florida’s statehood, during the time of Spanish rule. In fact, her grave is recorded as having the oldest headstone in Santa Rosa County.” [Tri-City Ledger, Jan. 4, 2007, article by Anne Stanton Williamson]

 

For more information: Jayhistoricalsociety@gmail.com

 

Posted by on Nov 17 2016. Filed under Announcements, Events, Happenings, Local. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Leave a Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

* Copy This Password *

* Type Or Paste Password Here *