Grave markers found in Mercer creek date to U.S. revolution
Share with others:
State police Trooper James Mason was dispatched to Carpenter Road in rural Mercer County Friday morning after someone spotted a safe in the wooded area just off the road.
But before he encountered the safe, he made a much more significant find.
Submerged in a shallow creek near the road in New Vernon Township, Trooper Mason recovered 29 bronze markers that were apparently used to distinguish the graves of veterans. In their rightful place, they stood over graves of those who served in wars stretching all the way back to the American Revolution.
Cpl. James Powell said the markers may have been from Spring Creek Cemetery in Corry, a small town southeast of Erie. State police there reported between 25 and 29 grave markers missing from the cemetery last July. State police in Mercer County were still waiting to hear from that investigator to see if they came from that theft. But he said he does not believe it was related to the safe that was found in the woods.
The markers are fairly small, said Cpl. Powell. Some are circular, about the size of CDs, and the others are shaped like stars, about 6 inches in diameter. They bear engravings with the names of wars -- from the American Revolutionary War to the War of 1812 to World War II -- along with the dates of the wars. They're attached to 2- to 3-foot long rods that were used to secure them in the ground. But there are no names on the markers, which were intended to supplement headstones.
Cpl. Powell suspects that the markers were stolen to be sold as scrap metal before the thief realized that trying to sell Revolutionary War-era grave markers might "raise a red flag."
Then, he theorized, the thief figured "it's just easier to dump them instead of take the chance and try to sell them."
So far, beyond their hypothesis that the markers came from Corry, state police have no leads on where the markers came from or how they ended up in a creek. They were unable to recover any fingerprints. They're hoping to have historical experts examine them soon.
But the good news is, beyond a little grit, they are in decent shape, said Cpl. Powell, and hopefully a step closer to their earthen homes.
Anyone with information about which cemetery the markers could have come from is asked to call state police in Mercer County at 724-662-6162.
First Published April 23, 2011 12:00 am
