Lick Creek Cemetery, sometimes known as Blackwell Cemetery or 13th Street Cemetery, was located at the intersection of Churchman Avenue and 13th Street, in Beech Grove, Marion County, Indiana.

The following paragraphs were published by Ernest J. Coverdill in the "Detroit Society for Genealogical Research Magazine" in 1993. Mr Coverdill researched and organized the cemetery's interment records in 1980, and the published article included his alphabetized listing of those buried in the cemetery. Since that date, three additional names have been discovered and confirmed.

"By patent, dated April 20, 1824, James Monroe, President, the title to the principal part of a farm known at a much later date as "Beech Bank", was conferred jointly to one Susanna Mosely and her two sons, Azariah and Jacob Mosely, who "entered" the land February 18, 1823. The original land purchase, like many made in the 1820's, consisted of 80 acres.

The Lick Creek Baptist Church (the first church in Perry township) was organized at the house of David Fisher (now the Ritzinger Farm), in the spring of 1826, by Abram Smock. Among the original members were David Fisher and wife, John Chinn and wife, William Gott and wife, Thomas Bryant and wife, James Turner and wife, and James R. McLaughlin and wife. A church edifice was built within one year after the organization with a burial ground in connection with the church. The first person interred in this ground was David Judd, on October 17, 1827. The second interment was that of Richard Ferree, a lad of about ten or twelve years old, who was killed by the overturning of a wagon. Also buried there is Abram Smock, who served the congregation for many years. About 1832, a large number left the church to organize the Buck Creek Baptist Church, which afterward became the Southport Baptist Church.

The six and a half rod square area upon which the church stood was leased on June 23, 1849 to the Lick Creek Baptist Church for a period of ninety nine years, with certain restrictions enjoined. A simple, one room, two-front-door church had been erected about 1850, on the brow of the hill, east of Lick Creek and near the center point of the east boundary line.

By reason of deaths and removals of members, the Lick Creek church was disbanded in 1866. Its building was torn down and the material removed to Indianapolis in 1867 or 1868. There it was rebuilt for the use of a colored Baptist church.

The Lick Creek Baptist Cemetery (13th Street Cemetery) adjoining the church, abandoned at the dissolving of the church, was located at what is now the entrance to the Beech Grove Park at Churchman and 13th Streets. The cemetery contains the bodies of at least three men with the surname Thomas. Two of those are Edwards. A soldier was buried in 1863, no information as to the Company to which he belonged. Also, Benjamin Thomas, a soldier buried in 1861. Thomas N. Thomas, buried in 1861, was a minister according to the engraving on the stone at the head of the grave. Benjamin Mc Farland was the most ancient one to be buried there, born in 1770. The oldest burial was Phinehas Judd, 1790-1827. The oldest person buried there was Samuel Tull, 1769-1854."

In the 1930's the city of Beech Grove purchased the cemetery property from the estate of Sarah T. Bolton - "The Poetess of Indiana." In hopes of "cleaning up the image of the area", the overgrown, often vandalized, wooden and slate markers were removed, and allegedly all those interred were relocated to another (unknown) location. Some evidence has surfaced that this relocation might not have happened. The property was converted to a park - first named Beech Grove Park, later Sarah T. Bolton park. A monument stands in this park commemerating those buried in Lick Creek Cemetery, including a list of their names.

This writer is monitoring the memorials found here, and requesting that any added without documentation, or outside the timeframe when interments occured (1827 - 1900) be removed.
I do this in honor of my father, who performed the inventory of records and published them for use by all who do genealogical research. His great-great-grandfather (Purnil), 3x great grandmother (Lavina), and other family members were buried here.
C.N. Coverdill November 3, 2013