Located on D.L.C. of Raphael Cheadle, on land that was once platted in hopes of becoming the county seat.

An article appeared in the Albany Democrat-Herald, May 18, 1989:

"...Handsome stone gates at the entrance commemorate the founders and builders of the old Plainview church, affectionately known as 'the White Steeple church.' Dismantled and sold in 1936, the church provided funds to construct the gates according to a plan suggested by Anna Brandon Morgan.

"The cemetery is a starting point for a wealth of historical lore. Near the flagpole is the grave of Sarah Wolf Simons, maker of the historic flag used by Elder Simons. During the winter of 1862 she worked up strips of cloth known as "factory" into a flag more than six feet long. Her husband Emmet ("Emet" on the stone) flew it from a standard on the family wagon during a trip to Brownsville in the day after the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 4, 1963. The flag has been retired by Elder Simons' sons, Albert and Emmett.

"Near the cemetery beside the flagpole is a native unhewn boulder, with a bronze plaque honoring the daughter of a Revolutionary War soldier, Mary Whitley Gilmour. The plaque was placed there in 1931 by the Linn chapter of DAR. Mrs. Gilmour's father was Col. William Whitley, whose old home in Kentucky is a national shrine.

"The name of Sand Ridge, according to tradition, was given the area by families who came from a place of that name in Iowa. Sand Ridge was almost a city before it was used as a cemetery. A vote of Linn county residents in 1855 named it as their choice for a county seat over Albany, Brownsville and Lebanon, but a later vote changed the decision.

"The first burial there was in June, 1857, when little Alfred Douthit, son of Harrison and Loueza Douthit, died by accident. A few of the stones show earlier dates, notable that for Joseph Swank, but the graves were moved to Sand Ridge from elsewhere. The earliest birth date recorded is for Thomas Hannah, born Sept. 11, 1777. He came to Linn county from Iowa and died in 1861 at the age of 84."

[Sources indicate that Leslie Haskin included this cemetery is his WPA survey -- but apparently I missed it when I pulled these records.  I'll transcribe the WPA history for this site at a future date.  LLJ]

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References used to prepare these cemetery pages are provided.
Lisa L. Jones prepared and is solely responsible for the content of these pages. 
Copyright 2001.