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Rocktown History Cemetery Report For
Willie W. Shifflett
24 Dec 1920
Birth Date:
Age:
Death Date:
24 Feb 1975
Cemetery Name:
St. Peter's Lutheran Church Cemetery
Grave Location:
5
3
Section Plot Row Grave
Cemetery Type:
Church
Tombstone Note:
Tombstone
Remarks:
Cemetery Location:
Latitude:
Longitude:
Source Date Remarks :
4-Nov
St. Peter's Lutheran Church Cemetery. Recording compared against D.A.R. records of 1960s-1970s, and compared against volunteers recording done in fall of 1997 including Ralph Jenkins. Also checked with the WPA records 16 Sep 1936.
Cemetery Notes
Well maintained. This is a marker which is at the front of the cemetery: "St. Peter's Lutheran Church founded on Naked Creek in 1733. Adam Miller the oldest settler in the valley, gave the land for what is the 2nd oldest Lutheran Church in Virginia. St. Peter's moved to this location in 1747 and worshiped here until 1884. The building was used by St. Peter's U.B. until 1953. The Lutheran Church is now Located on Rt. 340." Volunteers in 1997 recorded cemetery for an Eagle Scout service Project with the assistance of Rev. Ralph Jenkins. In 1936 C. C. Morris with the W.P.A. wrote the following: "Here we have one of the oldest cemeteries in the valley, established along with one of the oldest Churches. It has the same name as it did when established about 180 years ago. Today it is still a union cemetery & belonged to several different denominations, Lutherans, United Brethren, Methodist & Presbyterians. Mathias Shuler came from Germany about 1730 and was buried here about 1750. It is not certain whether he was the first burial. It is known that William Cravens & John Bear, two noted Methodist preaches, held audiences spellbound here in 1770. This cemetery must have been for a long time a burying place as it is near the camping grounds of the Indians when they occupied the valley. Some of the Stovers are buried here, who are supposed to be descendants of the first settlers by that name in the country. The older graves have no inscriptions, only rock stones. Others have limestones with amateur inscriptions."
2023 Rocktown History. For personal use only.
From Courthouse in Harrisonburg, Virginia, take Route 33 East. Go 12.4 miles and turn left onto Route 602 (East Point Road). Go 6.6 miles. You will see St. Peter’s United Methodist Church (also known as-St. Peter’s Evangelical United Brethren Church) on left side of Route 602. On the right side you will see business-Dovel’s Garage. On the south side of the business there is a dirt lane which leads to St. Peter’s Lutheran Church Cemetery.
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