What is it about cemeteries?

I'm fascinated with cemeteries. I'm not sure when or even where the fascination began, but there is just something about the serenity, the quietness, the history of walking through a cemetery.

During a recent visit with my good friend Greg Slipher, the subject of cemeteries came up (not sure how that came about either) and Greg shared with me that there is a "Colored Cemetery" in Boone County, near Thorntown, Indiana. It's actually located on 825W, north of State Route 47 in Sugar Creek Township.

There are only a couple tombstones remaining. They're weathered and unreadable, but still they mark where someone, a father, a mother, a son, a daughter is buried.

From records I found online there are twenty-seven graves. Elisha Derrick, a Civil War Veteran is buried there. The youngest person buried in the Colored Cemetery is Maud Smith, age 3 who died in 1906. The oldest person buried there is Matilda Derrickson, age 91. She died in 1906. The last person buried there, Thomas Rule in 1914.

I have other cemeteries I'll be sharing. What about you. Have you visited a cemetery recently? For what reason?