Brothers Work To Restore A Piece Of History

By Nancy K. Crevier

When Linda and Jim Lintz and their twin 15-year-old sons, Palmer and Parker, moved to their Poor House Road home in Newtown last summer, they did not expect to find themselves delving into the history of the area right off the bat. But driving back and forth on Cemetery Road several times a day to reach Route 302, they found themselves wondering about the road’s moniker.

“Why is it called Cemetery Road, we wondered,” said Ms Lintz, who admits to being a history buff. Then they noticed a small, ancient cemetery off to one side that had apparently been cleaned up in recent years, and shortly after saw that beneath a web of vines, poison ivy, and rubbish on the other side of the road, was another cemetery.

“We took a walk one day to explore it, and decided it would be nice to spruce it up. The boys were really intrigued with the mystery of it, I think,” recalled Ms Lintz.

Using the genealogical department of the C.H. Booth Library, and other historical resources there, Palmer and Parker discovered that Flat Swamp Cemetery #2, one of the two cemeteries on Cemetery Road, is the resting place of at least 36 members of the Crofut family and other locals. “The site was active from 1805 to 1852,” said Ms Lintz, “and their research indicates that much of the land near the cemetery was owned at one time by a member of the Crofut family.”

The Crofut family, alternately spelled in old records as “Crofoot” or “Crowfoot,” were early settlers in Newtown, farming the land and during the 1800s contributing to the common sheep flock, according to records in E.L. Johnson’s book Newtown 1795 to 1918. It is believed that Daniel Crofut built the home at 1 Poor House Road in the early 1700s, just up the road from the Lintzs’ home.

Their connection to the land heightened by their research, the boys decided to take action to restore the cemetery to its former state. They found out through the Newtown Land Use Agency that the site had apparently reverted to the town years before and received permission to clean up the property.

Since mid-March, Parker and Palmer have dedicated several hours each weekend to clearing away the brush and garbage on the property, and resurrecting the fallen tombstones. Once the vegetation is under control and the headstones have been repaired, they hope to add some landscaping plants and surround the cemetery with an attractive fence, said Ms Lintz. Parker and Palmer also visualize a permanent sign commemorating the history of the cemetery. It is an ambitious project, and the family is hoping to receive some outside support from local businesses and individuals.

“They could use some help in removing all of the brush, and I know they would like to purchase grass seed for the property. If a fencing company could help them with the cost of the fence, that would be great,” Ms Lintz said.

“The people buried here probably owned or worked the land surrounding this cemetery,” said Palmer, and Parker added that renovating the graveyard would be a way to give back to his new community and honor those that had worked the land before them.

There is one more reason that Parker and Palmer feel compelled to improve the ramshackle cemetery: the boys’ research also turned up a personal connection to the historical Newtown Crofut family. “We found out that our house on Poor House Road was owned, too, at one time by a member of the Crofut family. So there’s the connection right there,” said Ms Lintz.

Ms Lintz said that she and her husband have always tried to instill in their boys the philosophy that “We are all just temporary keepers of the land we live on and use, and that we must respect it and the people who took care of it before us.” In restoring Flat Swamp Cemetery #2, said Ms Lintz, Palmer and Parker feel that they are living by that philosophy.

To contact Palmer or Parker, call 304-1746; or email them at lvlintz@charter.net.