Roanoke I.O.O.F. Cemetery Plaque

Whispers of the past echo here at Roanoke I.O.O.F. Cemetery Plaque. This plaque, a simple aluminum sentinel, marks a place brimming with stories. Roanoke I.O.O.F. Cemetery, despite its name, was never exclusively for members of the Independent Order of Oddfellows. Established in 1897 by Lodge No. 421, the five-and-a-half-acre plot served the entire community. The plaque itself stands as a testament to this history. The first burial, James DeWitt Pressley in 1897, rests here. But one tombstone predates him. Mrs. Calvin Abner Sams, originally buried on family land in 1882, was reinterred in Roanoke I.O.O.F. Cemetery in 1914. The cemetery holds a darker tale too. Near the “Hanging Tree” lies an alleged horse thief, hanged in 1906. Roanoke I.O.O.F. Cemetery also became the final resting place for railroad workers and their families in the 1920s. Pioneer families like the Sams, Fanning, Cowan, Seagraves, Buell, Lassen, Boutwell, Taylor, Mitchell, and McMahon all have loved ones resting within these grounds. Roanoke I.O.O.F. Cemetery Plaque, though unassuming, offers a poignant glimpse into the lives and times of those who shaped this community. It’s a quiet reminder that history is etched not just in stone, but in the very earth beneath our feet.