Wood County
WVGenWeb Project
Holliday Cemetery

Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia
6th St. and Gale Ave, Parkersburg WV
Lat: 39° 08' 43"N, Lon: 81° 30' 09"W 

Contributed by Teresa Fordyce 
Total records = 85.

Located in Parkersburg, on the corner of 6th St. and Gale Ave, east of the 5th Street Bridge.
This is among one of the oldest Wood County Cemeteries. The earliest recorded burial was in 1811, but it is thought that several of the unmarked graves pre-date that time. One of those unmarked graves is said to be Ransom Reed, Harman and Margaret Blennerhassett’s favorite servants. The cemetery is about 1 ¾ acre in size with a deep ravine running down the center. The front and right sides are bordered with stone walls that were constructed in the early 1930’s. The property was first owned by Robert Thornton and then transferred to Alexander Parker, Parkersburg’s founder. After Parker’s death, his daughter, Mary Robinson inherited the property. The area was officially deeded as a community cemetery in 1853.

The cemetery is no longer used and in very poor condition. The grounds are kept mowed but the vast majority of the stones are in terrible condition. Many of the stones are made of limestone and shale and have not weathered well. Many of the stones are worn to the point that an inscription is no longer detectable. Many stones have fallen over and are broken into several pieces. On the right side of the cemetery, near a tree in the back, lay a pile of broken stones. John House visited this cemetery in the early 1930s. He noted several stones that I was unable to locate/read. These entries will be marked with an asterisk (*). Over the years, many of the people buried here have been moved to other cemeteries. I walked and transcribed this cemetery on May 22, 2004.