There are three dates on the cornerstone of the Old Zionsville UCC: 1769, 1858, and 1909. Each year represents one of the buildings erected for the congregation. The first was a log cabin, followed by a brick building, and now the stately stone structure which currently sits beside the cemetery. (Apparently there was also a fieldstone church built in 1789, but this seems to have been omitted from the cornerstone.) The
church’s website indicates the log cabin was accompanied by a small graveyard which still exists, but it’s not clear if the original cemetery is part of the current one or in a separate location. As there are numerous veterans of the Revolutionary War buried here, this cemetery could potentially either date from that first cabin or the second fieldstone building.
There is another cemetery and church right up the road, Zion’s Evangelical Lutheran, which I also photographed, but I feel this graveyard had more interesting and better preserved specimens.
These are some of the older headstones I was able to locate. Although the type is not fully legible on most, the church has placed plaques in front of several of them, specifically those veterans of the Revolutionary War. Many of these stones feature PA German star- or sun-burst motifs, similar to hex signs also common in the area. I adore the heart design towards the bottom of the stone in the third photo.
The first headstone in this post features four small columns which are inset, but separate from the main body of the stone. This almost architectural detail is something I’ve never seen before in a stone of this age. I wish I’d gotten a better photo of it. I’ve also included a willow tree, open book, and hand pointed skyward in this batch, but I’m really intrigued by the second-to-last headstone as I cannot decipher the imagery at the top of that one due to wear. Any ideas as to what it might depict?
“We shall meet again” and other highlights from this cemetery. The first image is a detail of a metal frame secured to the face of a very worn headstone. The lighting required adjustment to really show the shattered glass inside. I suspect it may have once held a small portrait of the deceased.
The third and fourth photos are of memorials made of white bronze, which holds up exceptionally well over the years. Interestingly, I found a white bronze headstone for another Mohr in a cemetery a few miles away from this one.
✣ 5981 Fountain Rd Old Zionsville, PA 18068 • Upper Milford Township, Lehigh County ✣
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