✣ Zion Evangelical Lutheran & Zion Hill ✣
This cemetery felt especially peaceful the day I visited. Dotted with large cedar trees, it opens into the surrounding fields without fences to partition it from the greater landscape. The original church building was erected in 1840, but the current brick structure dates to 1890. The older section of the graveyard is, of course, located close to the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, but it’s also distinguished by more than proximity. The older rows of headstones run parallel to the rear wall of the Church, but after a few yard gap, the whole orientation shifts and the rows begin to run perpendicular. The Zion Hill Cemetery Association was established and severed from the Church in 1958, so there are technically two cemeteries operating at this location: one maintained by the church, and one by the association. The shift in orientation marks the division, along with posted signs. However, there are gravestones in the newer section which date decades before the 1950s, so the shifting of the rows does not correspond to when the cemetery association took ownership of that area. ➺ About Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
➺ Local Cemeteries
➺ Find A Grave
Here are a series of headstones from the earlier period of the cemetery, dating from the 1850s. They seem to be in a transitional style: still maintaining the thin profile of older headstones, but incorporating more decorative type variations characteristic of later headstones. A few of the stones were enveloped in yucca. The one I’ve included here may show a stylized willow tree, but it almost resembles a caduceus design.
These headstones are from the newer section of the cemetery. The Lewis Fretz stone features a beautifully detailed carving of clasped hands. The one on the left is adorned with delicate chain bracelets and a ring. The stone leans precariously forward, but that steep angle may have helped to protect the carving from the weather. “Peace be with your ashes” is written on the Landis obelisk, which is topped by the urn shown in the last photo. ✣ 2966 Old Bethlehem Pike Zion Hill, PA 18981 • Springfield Township, Bucks County ✣
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