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Stories in Stone LbNA #39872

Owner:Gingaroo
Plant date:Aug 16, 2009
Location:
City:Versailles
County:Ripley
State:Indiana
Boxes:1
Found by: trolltracks
Last found:Oct 22, 2011
Status:FFFF
Last edited:Aug 16, 2009
Versailles, IN has a colorful history and many of its citizens are buried in the Cliff Hill Cemetery in the northeast end of the village. I had the privilege to read a copy of Alan F. Smith’s Tales of Versailles and it inspired me to go to the cemetery to try to find the people buried there and mentioned in the book. I did find a few gravesites.

First, let's find the box. Go to the intersection of Monroe and E 2nd North Street and read the newly placed plaque telling about the Hanging Tree. Follow the cemetery road to the stone arches, turn left onto the paved road at the arch and be sure to stop and read about Gordon’s Leap. Continue down the road, round the bend, and stop at the second tree on your left. Walk to the edge of the cemetery towards the lake (Gordon’s Leap) and position yourself between the Yocums and Libuano’s markers. “Stories in Stone” is lying under the nearby evergreen and all decked out in a camouflage suit.

If you’re interested in finding some stones of people with a history here, go through the arches and pull over just before the road turns to the right. You passed the tall obelisk dedicated to James Tyson on your left to get here. “Uncle Jim” was the cofounder of Walgreens and donated money to the town for the water and sewer systems, a school, library, and church. He was a big man in town!

As you walk towards the northeast corner of the cemetery, look out for the small obelisk for William Loesnich (1900). He fought in the Civil War and came back to religiously don his uniform, care for the gas street lights, play his bugle, and cry out that “All is Well”. He shot himself after an altercation with a townsman and was fined $5.

Somewhere in this area are the gravesites of Frank Robinson (1890), a bank robber and Nellie Keeler or Keller (1903), the world’s smallest person who traveled with P.T. Barnum for a spell. The Bagots ran the livery stable and feed store in town. When you get to the northeast corner of the cemetery, you will see the plots for the Hartley family. T.R. Hartley owned a quarry in town and had the first telephone line connected to Geo. Young’s quarry in Osgood in 1899.

Florence Steen lies in an above ground crypt because she didn’t want to be buried in the ground. Flo made hats, ran a millinery, then a bar and beer garden, and became a friend in need when she nursed the sick, acted as a midwife, and performed abortions. She was convicted twice for that service. Her crypt can be found by going right from the NE corner about 2/3 of the way across the grounds.