Commons Cemetery
Photo added by Candice Buchanan, Greene Connections Archivist

Commons Cemetery

Also known as Waynesburg Cemetery

Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania, USA – *No GPS coordinates

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The Commons Cemetery was located in the area known today as Monument Park, near the Waynesburg University Campus, at the northeast intersection of Wayne and Washington Streets. It may have been in use as early as the 1790s, following the county's formation, and the establishment of Waynesburg as county seat, in 1796. By 1870, the graveyard was overfull, and an ordinance was passed to forbid further burials. A subsequent court order in 1879, ordered the removal of any graves that had not already been removed by families. Only a few blocks away, Green Mount Cemetery, established in 1853, received many of the removals. Notations in Green Mount lot books specifically identify each known removal from the Commons. In spite of these official requirements, it is certain that not all bodies were removed. It would have been practically impossible to do so. The site remains a burial ground for many early residents. As evidence, when the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, for which the current park is named, was installed in the late 1890s, the crew disturbed a grave. There are no known official records for this cemetery. It is sometimes referred to in court documents, obituaries, or family papers. Most assumed burials are inferred based on the early residence of families in Waynesburg and the likelihood that this would have been the most convenient graveyard.
The Commons Cemetery was located in the area known today as Monument Park, near the Waynesburg University Campus, at the northeast intersection of Wayne and Washington Streets. It may have been in use as early as the 1790s, following the county's formation, and the establishment of Waynesburg as county seat, in 1796. By 1870, the graveyard was overfull, and an ordinance was passed to forbid further burials. A subsequent court order in 1879, ordered the removal of any graves that had not already been removed by families. Only a few blocks away, Green Mount Cemetery, established in 1853, received many of the removals. Notations in Green Mount lot books specifically identify each known removal from the Commons. In spite of these official requirements, it is certain that not all bodies were removed. It would have been practically impossible to do so. The site remains a burial ground for many early residents. As evidence, when the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, for which the current park is named, was installed in the late 1890s, the crew disturbed a grave. There are no known official records for this cemetery. It is sometimes referred to in court documents, obituaries, or family papers. Most assumed burials are inferred based on the early residence of families in Waynesburg and the likelihood that this would have been the most convenient graveyard.

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  • Added: 16 May 2003
  • Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 1963058