TOWN OF NIAGARA — A local cemetery is now offering unique, self-guided tours as part of a larger Tombstone Trail project involving both Niagara and Erie counties.
The Witmer Cemetery tours, which are part of a program celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, take participants on a tour of tombstones honoring 12 U.S. military veterans who served between the War of 1812 and the Korean conflict. The tours, which run through Veterans Day, are sponsored by the Erie County Legislature as part of a larger tombstone trail program involving a total of 26 historic cemeteries across Western New York.
During the tour, participants are asked to pick up a flyer at the main gate and follow a numbered sheet that leads to each of the 12 military veteran resting places within Witmer Cemetery.
The first stop focuses on George Martin, who was born in 1840. Town of Niagara Historian Pete Ames said he believes Martin’s grave is a good place to start the tour because he has a fascinating back story involving his life before and after his enlistment in the Civil War.
“Look at the story on the back of his stone and I think you will find it quite surprising,” Ames said.
Ames said he believes visitors will find the other stops along the tour equally interesting. As always, he said people are invited to simply stop to take a respite while sitting on a bench in the historic cemetery, which was established on a family farm in 1811 by Abraham Witmer.
Only two Niagara County cemeteries, Witmer in the Town of Niagara, and Mount View Cemetery in Pekin are participating in this particular project.
For more information about other local cemeteries taking part in the 250 Tombstone Trail Project, visit the website for the local tourism group Visit Buffalo Niagara at visitbuffaloniagara.com.