History of Bagdad Cemetery
Although the first recorded minutes of the Bagdad Cemetery are dated February 26, 1876, a few headstone burial dates precede 1876: Willie J. Kesler, born 1867, died 1870; Elizabeth Bondurant died November 1873, age 59; Hiram Murphy, age 24, died January 1875; Nine year old Annie F. Long died June 1875; S.G. Magruder, age 4 days, died April 1876. The earliest recorded burial at Bagdad is that of Maggie McKee, who less than 1 year old, died in 1863.
Sarah F. Blaydes, who died in June 1876, was the wife of J.W. Blaydes, one of the original trustees of the cemetery. She was 44 years old. The inscription on her headstone reflects the early cemetery grounds.
Old Cemetery Entrance
Sarah F. Blaydes
“We laid her in her narrow cell,
We heaped the soft mold on her breast;
And parting tears like rain drops fell
Upon her lonely place of rest.
May angels guard it, may they bless
Her slumbers in the wilderness.”
This inscription is from a poem by Micah P. Flint (1807-1830)
titled Lines On Passing the Grave of My Sister.
New Cemetery Entrance and Memorial Plaque
Scofield Anvil Monument
Original trustees were: A.G. Smith, Leroy Kesler, S.H. Bryant, F.D. Lewis, J.W. Blaydes, S.F. Harrod, M. Hiatt, and J.J. Long.
On June 24, 1876, J. T. Moore was appointed as the first superintendent of the cemetery.
In October of 1876, the board ordered 60 trees, equally divided among white pine, hemlock, fir, scotch pine, and Austrian pine. Plus 50 trees equally divided among Tom Thumb, junipers, and box. The large evergreens cost $.55 each and the dwarfs $.75 each. Board members had previously met with members of the Eminence Cemetery to inform their landscaping decisions. From the very beginning, the stakeholders wanted to establish and keep a peaceful area with intentional landscaping and beautified with trees.
A new board was elected in April 1878 and continued for several years.
In January 1883, the board voted to build a house on the grounds and to be built by Morris Brown for $650.
In November 1887, James Scofield’s proposal was accepted to build an iron fence in the front of the cemetery. You can find James’ burial easily in Division I, Section G of the cemetery. It is the one designed as an anvil resting on a tree stump.
In 1917, the board voted to build a chapel on the grounds at a cost of about $1000. Today, the chapel is used for storage.
In 1978, the board approved adding a new entrance near the caretakers residence.
Also in 1978, Mrs. Roger L. Bailey donated gates to the original entrance in honor of her husband, Roger L. Bailey.
In 1982, a new section, to be called Division III, was approved to be plotted. The board voted to spend up to $3500 to landscape the new division.
In 1994, gates for the new entrance were donated by Mrs. Martha Weakley Bohannon in memory of her husband, Harold P. Bohannon.
Source: The Bagdad Cemetery, copyright 1996, by Geological Society, Inc. which reference minutes by J.W. and Margaret Miles.