2023-2024 Odessa City Guide Page 37 Before the two communities, Greenton and Mt. Hope, moved nearer to the C&A Railroad forming the town of Odessa, people buried their loved ones, or perhaps complete strangers, in family or church cemeteries. On September 26, 1881, land purchased from Asa Hatch became the Odessa Cemetery, shortly before the town of Odessa was incorporated. The first person buried in the cemetery was a one-year-old child named Robbie, by his parents Mr. and Mrs. P.W. Gum, on October 16, 1881. Families who had buried loved ones in family graveyards or in rural areas, primarily from the Greenton and Mt. Hope areas, moved family members to the Odessa Cemetery. Some of these reburials covered deaths as far back as 1847. In 1943, Mayor Thomas Dyer recommended maintenance of the Odessa Cemetery be turned over to a citizen board. Hugh Ramsey, present at the first board meeting, suggested an endowment fund be established in order to properly restore and manage the cemetery. Ramsey reviewed plans in other cities, worked on cemetery records, and developed bylaws to manage the cemetery. Located at the Odessa Cemetery is a monument placed there by the Odessa Cemetery Association, Inc. in memory of Ramsey’s contributions. Officers are Denny Fieth, president; Joey Kleoppel, vice president; Sherryl Delana, secretary; Amanda Hotmer, treasurer. Other members are John Hotmer, Dennis Slusher, Robert Danner, David Magruder, Paul Robbins, Bruce Whitsitt, Randy Moore and Phil Varner. Board meets at 7 p.m. the first Tuesday of the month at the cemetery office, 202 W. Mason. To purchase lots, contact Scott Patrick, caretaker, (816) 699-7058. Greenton Cemetery, established in 1835 north of Odessa, is the oldest cemetery in the area. The church is the last building left from the town of Greenton. The land, donated by Joseph H. Green, contains one of the earliest recorded headstones, that of a child, Harriet V., the infant daughter of M.M. and M.J. Robinson, dated 1849. Ronnie Gray is current president and Larry Jones is vice-president of the Greenton Cemetery Association board and Karen Barker is treasurer. Board members are Mike Murry, Rick Barker, Glenn Barker, Joyce and Gary Kite and Bill Schieber. Mt. Tabor Cemetery originated in 1893 when a tract of land was donated southeast of Odessa on what is now Mt. Tabor Road by John and Nancy McNeel. The cemetery is made up of the original tract, plus an area donated by Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Steelman Jr., and a five-acre tract purchased in 1989 from the Steelmans. Present corporation board members are Jerry Wade, president; Ronnie Steelman, vice president; Laura Nolte, secretary; Frances Laun, treasurer; Roger Douthit and Arthur Steelman Jr. The Odessa Cemetery is located east of town on Odessa Cemetery Road. An association was formed in 1943. Woods Chapel Cemetery is south of Odessa on 131 Highway in Johnson County. The cemetery, which is east of the church, was incorporated May 2, 1944. The oldest tombstones date back to those of Civil War veterans. Woods Chapel Cemetery Association board president is Donald Pemberton. Jerry Long is vice president and Margaret Howerton is secretary/treasurer. Board members are Penny Sisk, Jeremy Barker and Adam Whited. The association is governed by a board which manages the money, ascertains where new graves can be placed, charges for plots, pays for maintenance and keeps the records. The Bates City Cemetery was opened in 1891 when the community’s founder, Theodore Bates, died. His widow purchased five acres of land from her son and selected a family plot in the center before deeding the remainder to the churches of Bates City as their cemetery. In later years, the south side of the cemetery was used for burials but today the original land has been modified with burial lots and driveways. Cemetery added a brick entryway and repaired the iron fence around the Bates family plot in 2010. Current board members are Bill Bainbridge, president, Gayle Bainbridge, secretary treasurer, Jim Bainbridge and Bob Bainbridge. Rural cemeteries are either family or church graveyards. Two graveyards, Muir and a portion of Mt. Hebron, were reserved for black families. The Summers-Helm and Powell cemeteries each have a cenotaph in memory of men who died in the Revolutionary War. The first was placed at Summers-Helm for Ezekial Stewart (1741-1837) by his son, David Stewart. The other, thought to be a memorial stone as it was placed after the 1974 survey, is for Joseph Powell (1760-1835). A collection and work documenting area cemeteries has been compiled and published by Marty Helm Brunetti, Odessa. The transcription may be accessed at the Odessa branch of Trails Regional Library in the genealogy section. The oldest grave site recorded in the history books, Brunetti said, is at the Thomas Hopper Cemetery. The son of Thomas Hopper died May 31, 1824, around the age of 26 leaving a wife and two small sons. Cemetery is a short distance from Junction 131 and FF, northeast, between Odessa and Wellington. Other rural cemeteries include Barker, Campbell, Chapel Hill, Cobb, Concord Baptist, McKendree Chapel, Mt. Hope, Pleasant Prairie, Poole, Old Concord Baptist, Shore, Summers-Helm, Odessa; Marvin Chapel, Mayview, Mound Prairie, Zion United Church of Christ, Mayview; Anderson, Napoleon United Methodist, St. Paul, Napoleon; Arnold, Mt. Olivet, St. Luke Evangelical, Wellington City Cemetery, Wellington. Greenton Cemetery, established in 1835, is one of the oldest cemeteries in the area. The cemetery adjoins Greenton Baptist Church. CommunityCemeteries
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