Near Barnesville in Belmont County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Captina African Methodist Episcopal Cemetery

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, November 29, 2014

1. Captina African Methodist Episcopal Cemetery Marker

Inscription. This cemetery stands as evidence of a once thriving African American farming community established in the 1820s. With the aid of community leader, Alexander "Sandy" Harper (c.1804-1889), Captina, originally called Guinea, became a stop on the Underground Railroad, a national network, shrouded in secrecy, of volunteers who directed slaves northward. Harper is buried in this cemetery, along with Benjamin Oliver McMichael (1865-1941), an educator who taught for twelve years in Captina/ Flatrock at a segregated schoolhouse. There are 113 known burials in the cemetery, including nine Civil War veterans. At this site in 1825, an African Methodist Episcopal Church was established to serve the community. Many of its members left Captina to work in cities, but the church continued services until 1962. The building then fell into disrepair and collapsed during a windstorm in 1978.

Erected 2002 by Ohio Bicentennial Commission, The Longaberger Company, The Dean Martin Committee, and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 8-7.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR

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• Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, and the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1825.

Location. 39° 56.326′ N, 81° 8.799′ W. Marker is near Barnesville, Ohio, in Belmont County. It is on Oakes Place 0.2 miles Flat Rock Road, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Barnesville OH 43713, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest,

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 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: American Legion Post 168 Veterans Memorial (approx. 3.4 miles away); Assumption Cemetery Veterans Memorial

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, November 29, 2014

2. Captina African Methodist Episcopal Cemetery Marker

(approx. 3½ miles away); Barnesville Civil War Memorial (approx. 3.7 miles away); B&O Railroad Tunnel (approx. 3.7 miles away); Barnesville Veterans Memorial (approx. 3.7 miles away); September 11, 2001 (approx. 3.7 miles away); Barnesville War Memorial (approx. 3.7 miles away); The Village Bell (approx. 3.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Barnesville.

Captina African Methodist Episcopal Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, November 29, 2014

3. Captina African Methodist Episcopal Cemetery

Alexander Harper Grave

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, November 29, 2014

4. Captina African Methodist Episcopal Cemetery

Descriptor Stone at base of Alexander Harper's grave
Alexander L. "Sandy" Harper
Underground Railroad Conductor
Died April 11, 1889
Aged 85 years

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, November 29, 2014

5. Captina African Methodist Episcopal Cemetery

Benjamin Oliver McMichael Grave

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on November 29, 2014, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 1,902 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on November 29, 2014, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.