Silvara
Bradford County
Pennsylvania USA
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Cemetery notes and/or description:
This cemetery is often called "Hillside". It is a very difficult cemetery to read, the stones deteriorating, sinking and literally washing out of the ground and down over the incredibly steep incline on which this cemetery was built. In the June flood of 1972, which was brought on by Hurricane Agnes, people used to stand on the bridge entering the town of Silvara and watch the pieces of the old wooden caskets float by. They were washing out of the Cogswell Cemetery. There is a large spring that is near the top of the cemetery on the right. A huge gully indicates it produces great quantities of water in the rainy season. The weather is very dry this fall and it is still very moist. The only headstone left on the right side of that spring is that of Clara Bennett Ruger. With the spring being prolific, then add to that the run off from heavy rain rushing down the hillside toward the creek, plus the raging Tuscarora Creek below eating away at the already soft banks, it is a wonder anything is left in the cemetery. That could explain the absence of grave markers between Clara Ruger and what is now the main part of the cemetery. Most of the stones in the main part of the cemetery are on manmade stone ledges and very sturdy foundations. Perhaps the section below the spring and 15 feet to each side was never used for burials. Or just possibly maybe some of these folks washed out along with the graves nearest the lower edge. A flagstone marker or two can still be found on the steep banks of the Tuscarora Creek. |
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