Cemetery is on land formerly owned by Peabody Coal Co. & now owned by ODNR. Have to get permission to be on their property. The cemetery is not easily accessible. Rough terrain across a field. The cemetery is in bad shape. Overgrown, groundhog holes, brush and the stones are in really bad shape.

The cemetery is located in Jackson Township on the south side of Ohio State Route 541 west of County Road 297. An old gravel road exists on the south side of Ohio State Route 541 about 0.3 miles west of its intersection with County Road 297. Signs are posted that vehicles are not permitted past the parking area on that road. The cemetery can be reached by foot from that parking area.

Thomas and Isabella Smith deeded one acre in Sec. 17 – R-7-T-5 to the Presbyterian Church and James McCullough in the 1840's. However, a recent deed search indicated that the land was deeded from Thomas Smith to Guy McCoy. Furthermore, an 1872 Titus Atlas shows that James McCoy owned the land where the cemetery is while an 1898 plat map shows Henry McCoy subsequently owned the land. Apparently this cemetery was more of a neighborhood cemetery although the Smiths were Presbyterians. This 181 year-old cemetery was not at the location of the church. The church building stood on the east side of intersection of CR 297 and SR 541.

The first burials in the cemetery were William and Sarah, died July 21, 1822, children of Thomas and Isabella Smith. According to dates readable on tombstones, the next burial was Rachel Loder, wife of John, died June 20, 1825, then Martha Loder, daughter of John & Rachel, died Dec. 23, 1830. Thomas Smith, died June 29, 1849 and Isabella, died May 24, 1854 are buried in the cemetery.

Source: "Jackson Township, Coshocton County, Ohio". Vol XVI. Copyright 2004 by the Coshocton County Chapter Ohio Genealogical Society. Page 146.

The families of John Smith, Thomas Smith and William Crooks were some of the first few Presbyterian families in the neighborhood to attend the Valley Presbyterian Church which was organized on the road from Coshocton to Newark, six miles west of Coshocton, in 1847.

Source: "History of Coshocton County, Ohio: Its Past and Present 1740 - 1881." Compiled by N. N. Hill, Jr. 1881. Page 510.

The memorials associated with this burial site were created from information gathered by individuals who visited the site in the early 50s (Helen Meredith), 1992 (Jean Reddick), August 2003 (volunteers from Coshocton County Chapter Ohio Genealogical Society) and 2021 (Shelley Reese McPeek and Duane Reese).

Those who visited the site in 2003 reported "stones are all either leaning, fallen on the ground and many completely buried." Upon arriving at the cemetery in April 2021, we observed that the headstones of Mary Ellen Kirker and Rachel Loder were the only ones standing or leaning. All of the other headstones were either barely visible while lying on the ground or completely buried, in some cases up to 8 inches below the soil surface. A few footstones were standing, but most were covered too. We found stones that none of the previous known visitors to the cemetery reported finding (i.e., those of James Loder, John Loder, Eliza Loder, William Loder and William H. H. Wheeler). We posted pictures to show the progress we are making in restoring this cemetery.

The headstones of John Loder, Thomas Smith and Isabella Smith are the largest in the cemetery. They each measure about 24" wide x 67" high (or long laying down) x 2" thick. They were originally set upright in a concrete or stone base, but later snapped off at the base and toppled over.