Old Town Cemetery

You’re now standing at the resting place of many of Morehead’s early settlers.

Old Town Cemetery was established in the late 1800s by Isabelle Abbey Oxley. Buried here, Oxley was the original owner of this site and one of Morehead’s first pioneers. Oxley also donated land for the courthouse square, where the Rowan County Arts Center is now located.

No one has been buried in this cemetery since the early 1900s, and at one time, residents were concerned the cemetery could contaminate water supply. In 2006, the Morehead Masonic Lodge #654, which has several members laid to rest here, raised money to restore broken monuments and the City of Morehead Public Works maintains the lawn of the ceremtery.

The Morehead Theater Guild has performed a play at Old Town Cemetery titled “Dining with the Dead,” in which actors portray Morehead settlers buried here. The play was written and directed by James D. Reeder.