In Focus: Mahoning Valley cemeteries boast long, proud history

STAFF REPORT

The Mahoning Valley has a great many cemeteries. Some are just a few yards of broken stones; some are acres of manicured grounds. Each marker has a story to tell. In many cases, the story is blurred and faded through decades — even centuries. Some stories are fresh and the memories just hours old, with the flowers newly laid on the grave of the beloved.

In Focus takes a stroll among the departed who lay at rest in Calvary Cemetery on Mahoning Avenue, Oak Hill Cemetery on Oak Hill Avenue and Boardman Cemetery on Tanglewood Drive. Though some might find this stroll far too solemn, it is in these places that one gets a true sense of the history of Youngstown and the valley.

Boardman Cemetery is one of the area’s oldest. The half-acre sitting just north of US 224 on Tanglewood Drive was gifted to the town by Elijah Boardman in 1805. Though it lies in the heart of Boardman, the tiny resting grounds have a solitary air. The markers here are modest and sparse for the most part and tell of those born as far back as the 18th century.

Calvary Cemetery on Belle Vista Avenue in Youngtstown is 133 acres of immaculately maintained burial grounds — the largest in the city. It was laid out as a cemetery in 1885 with some of its oldest plots situated at the northwest section of the cemetery.

An avenue in the center of the cemetery is lined with exquisite mausoleums of some well-known local families.

Oak Hill Cemetery, on the city’s south side, is neither the largest nor oldest, but it’s perhaps the most intriguing of the three resting places.

Read the full story and view a collage of photos from Valley cemeteries Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.