Answering questions about a Northern York County cemetery
Some time ago, I received a comment and question from Richard Nye, who asked, “Joan, there is a small isolated burial ground on Alpine Road surrounded by a picket fence on the south side of Pinchot Park close to the dam. There are only a few grave markers in this cemetery dating from 1796 to 1846. I checked it out on the internet and it is named ‘Bender Burial Ground.’ Have you ever heard of this burial ground?”
Longtime reader Jo Ott had, once upon a time, encouraged me and former YDR sports editor Chris Otto to visit this small Warrington Township burial ground, and in fact we have been there on several occasions. Today, I’d like to share some notes about this cemetery, including some research Jo found through the Greater Dover Historical Society and some of our photos!
Jo provided images of several research documents, found at the York County History Center with help from Dover’s Barbara Rudy, and showing more details about the cemetery’s history. (If you’re reading this in print, you can see them at www.yorkblog.com/onlyyork.)
Of some note from various research, it has gone by many names, including:
- Alpine Road Cemetery
- Bender Burial Ground
- Benders Burial Ground
- Maytown-Bender Cemetery
- Alpine (Benders) Cemetery
Through some research on Ancestry.com, Jo found that there was indeed a Bender family farm in Warrington Township, possibly more than one family with that last name. One image Jo shared is a YDR article dated Nov. 11, 1973, by Anna Snelbecker, which mentions a church on the property at one time and other interesting facts.
Meanwhile, after a visit there in 2012, Chris wrote a post sharing both some photos from that cemetery as well as some links where you can read more about its history. You can check it out at Artsy Photos from a Northern York County Cemetery.
