A LITTLE ABOUT DUTCH HOLLOW HANGER CEMETERY
Dutch Hollow Hanger Cemetery was first used as a burial ground in the 1700s with the earliest confirmed burial in 1798. It is the grave of Maria Catharina Kaufelt Bright. Maria was born in Germany in 1734 and came to America with her parents at age twelve in 1746. Her story is one of faith and perseverance, not unlike many of the stories of those buried in Dutch Hollow. Her grave is marked with a simple limestone rock inscribed 1798 MKB. Maria's story is just one of many that was destined to sooner or later be lost to the passage of time but for the dedication and hard work of many. This website is part of that hard work and as a result of it, Maria's descendants are once again visiting her resting place in Dutch Hollow. We are dedicated to preserving the cemetery, researching those buried in Dutch Hollow, and connecting the descendants of those buried there with their ancestors through the sharing of records and research on this site. Join us, and learn more about Maria and the many others in Dutch Hollow Hanger Cemetery.
After almost two years of work in the cemetery, and in an attempt to not only restore the physical aspect of the graveyard but also the historical significance of it, efforts shifted to focusing on state and national recognition. Working closely with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and others, applications were submitted for inclusion on the Virginia Historic Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. This became a year-long process, and in December 2023 the cemetery was added to the list of Virginia Historic Landmarks. In April of 2024 it was added to the Department of The Interior's National Register of Historic Places. Dutch Hollow Hanger Cemetery is only the second cemetery in Augusta County, Virginia to attain such national recognition.
Dutch Hollow Hanger Cemetery hasn't always looked as it does now. In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century the cemetery feel into complete disrepair. In 1798 when the first known burial took place, the cemetery property was likely just a grassy slope on the northwest side of Dutch Hollow. Over the ensuing years the ravages of time destroyed the fence and this allowed livestock, which had for decades grazed around the perimeter, to get into the cemetery itself. This resulted in headstones being dislodged, toppled, broken, and eventually buried. The last known burial took place there in 1919 when Mary Ann Clinebell was interred. Mary Ann grew up in Dutch Hollow and never married. She was 83 when she died. Her obituary and family history can be found in the members section.
In 2021 when the cleanup of the cemetery began, there was no non-profit organization to garner financial support for the work. There was no website, there was no newsletter, and there was no plan. But there were trees, vines, briars and brambles and we knew they had to be cleared before much more could be accomplished. This initial clearing took over two years. The graveyard property covers approximately .556 acres. All of the work was done by hand to avoid doing further damage with motorized equipment. It resulted in over two thousand hours of work dedicated over that initial two year period. Hundreds of photographs of this process along with the discoveries that were made can be found in the Photo Gallery section and throughout the members section.
Even after the trees and vines had been removed, the task of finding, repairing, and resetting the headstones that could be found still had to be done. This was indeed a challenging task. In this image a total of fourteen headstones were found, repaired and reset. Because most of the headstones had separate bases, these bases remained in their original places over the years and were used to correctly reset the dislodged headstones in their proper place. Genealogical research has been compiled and is ongoing by a number of descendants, with some information dating back to the late 1600s and early 1700s. Much of that information is now archived on the website with more being added monthly.
Work at Dutch Hollow Hanger Cemetery continues and will for the foreseeable future. While much of the heavy lifting is in the past, routine maintenance is continuous, regardless of the season. Debris cleanup in the spring, mowing and weed-eating in the summer and fall, and fence and lane maintenance throughout the calendar year. It is a labor of love for all those who choose to assist, and the personal rewards cannot be measured. Research on those buried in the cemetery and their families never stops, and most of the information garnered is formatted for inclusion on the website in the members section.
