Martins Ferry in Belmont County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Walnut Grove Cemetery

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., February 20, 2010

1. Walnut Grove Cemetery Marker (Side A)

Inscription. The Walnut Grove Cemetery is the burial place of members of the Zane and Martin families. Their graves lie within the brick enclosure. The cemetery is also the resting-place of many early Martins Ferry residents, including veterans of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Civil War. The Zane and Martin families were significant in the pioneer history of the region. Betty Zane's legendary heroism at Fort Henry (now Wheeling, West Virginia) helped settlers resist an attack by the British and their Native American allies in September 1782.

Absalom Martin, one of the first Americans to buy land in the Northwest Territory and regarded as one of the first to legally settle here, received the first license to operate a ferry on the Ohio River in 1789. Ebenezer and Jonathan Zane, Betty's brothers, laid out Zane's Trace in 1796 across what would become southeast Ohio. Ebenezer and Minerva Zane Martin sold the cemetery's land to the town of Martins Ferry in 1866 for $100.

Erected 1998 by Ohio Bicentennial Commission, The Longaberger Company, Betty Zane Days Committee, Martins Ferry Area Historical Society, and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 3-7.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites

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• Forts and Castles • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers • War of 1812 • War, Mexican-American • War, US Civil • War, US Revolutionary. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical month for this entry is September 1782.

Location. 40° 5.987′ N, 80° 43.168′ W. Marker is in Martins Ferry, Ohio, in Belmont County. It is on 4th Street, on the right when traveling north. Cemetery and marker are at the end of the street, about 150 feet NE of Ellet Street, adjacent to a parking lot for East Ohio Regional Hospital. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Martins Ferry OH 43935, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest,

in the Ohio River Valley,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Elizabeth Zane (here, next to this marker); Martins Ferry Pioneers (here, next to this marker); Revolutionary War Soldiers Buried in this Cemetery (here, next

Walnut Grove Cemetery Marker (Side B) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, November 2, 2014

2. Walnut Grove Cemetery Marker (Side B)

to this marker); Civil War Cannon (within shouting distance of this marker); Confederate Cannon and Historic Cemetery (within shouting distance of this marker); Elizabeth "Betty" Zane McLaughlin Clark (within shouting distance of this marker); William Dean Howells / James Arlington Wright (approx. 0.3 miles away); First Presbyterian Church Bell (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Martins Ferry.

Also see . . .
1. Walnut Grove Cemetery Burial Transcription. RootsWeb entry (Submitted on March 9, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)

2. History of Martins Ferry. City website entry (Submitted on March 9, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)

Walnut Grove Cemetery Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., February 20, 2010

3. Walnut Grove Cemetery Marker

With Betty Zane Monument to left. Looking NE.

Walnut Grove Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, November 2, 2014

4. Walnut Grove Cemetery

Zane-Martin Graves plot

View from Walnut Grove Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., February 20, 2010

5. View from Walnut Grove Cemetery

Looking SW along 4th Street, with East Ohio Regional Hospital on left.

Credits. This page was last revised on March 2, 2022. It was originally submitted on March 9, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 3,465 times since then and 40 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on March 9, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 2. submitted on November 2, 2014, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 3. submitted on March 9, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 4. submitted on November 2, 2014, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 5. submitted on March 9, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.