Oh Where, Oh Where is the Cemetery?

Old Prospect Hill Cemetery

Date Visited:  June 23, 2019

Stop:  #15

By now, Kathy and I had learned that our Gold Source for the Michigan historical markers was inaccurate in many cases.  Many of the coordinates turn out to be off just enough to make finding the actual location challenging, but we had never encountered a circumstance quite this challenging.  According to our Gold Source, the marker for our next destination was supposed to be at the exact same location as the marker for Dibbleville.  Well, we already knew the location of the Dibbleville marker was wrong, so things were not looking promising for finding our next target.  With the coordinates now suspect, we went to the address that was posted in our Gold Source.  That took us to the police station at 301 S. Leroy St.  Since we were looking for a cemetery, obviously this raised eyebrows, but we decided to walk around the police station and the City Hall (which was next door) just to make sure there was no sign.  There wasn’t.  Strike two.  We tried to do a Google search on our phones but could not get a signal.  We were running out of options.  Would we be forced to go retro and actually have to ask a LIVE person for directions???  As a last resort, I went back to our Gold Source to look for any more clues.  Luckily, under the title “Additional Information,” there was another clue.  A reference to the cemetery being located on Davis Street.  So, we walked back to our car, accessed our Google maps, and found that Davis Street was about a half mile away. 

We headed south on Leroy Street and made a right-hand turn onto W. Shiawassee Ave.  Davis St. was about 0.42 miles west of Leroy Street on the south side of W. Shiawassee Ave.  On the southwest corner was a sign pointing us in the direction of Oakwood Cemetery, and under that sign, a smaller one referencing Old Prospect Hill Cemetery, our intended destination.  We turned left onto Davis Street and it ended about 0.1 miles at the entrance to Oakwood Cemetery.  Once we entered the cemetery, we noticed a small sign off to the left that referenced Old Prospect Hill with an arrow pointing us in the right direction.  So, we followed the sign, which took us around a couple of curves, down a hill and then back up a larger hill.  Another sign and another curve and we came to an intersection and a sign telling us to make a left.  By this time, however, we had seen the cemetery we were seeking off to the left, encompassed by an old wrought iron fence.  The Old Prospect Hill Cemetery is located in the northeast corner of the Oakwood Cemetery.  The historical marker is located on the outside of the wrought iron fence enclosure, and to the right of the entrance to the cemetery.  Total distance from where my Gold Source said the cemetery was located – nearly one mile away.

Just inside the entrance to Old Prospect Hill Cemetery, located to your left, is a map which identifies some of the major landmarks within the cemetery as well as the burial site locations and names of each person buried there.  Using this map, you can try to find the gravesites of some of the earliest settlers of Fenton, and some of its most historical figures as well.  Among them are: 

• Clark Dibble, the first settler and after whom Dibbleville was named
• Dustin Cheney, who accompanied Clark Dibble to this area and co-founded Dibbleville and who build the first log cabin in Dibbleville
• Phillip McOmber, Sr., the first Genesee County prosecutor
• Daniel LeRoy, Michigan’s first attorney general

These names are included on the historical marker, so needless to say, we were determined to find their gravesites.  You will also learn that this cemetery was established in 1834. 

Kathy and I spent quite awhile exploring this cemetery.  We found many of the headstones mentioned above and took photos of them.  The McOmber family plot is located at in the extreme northeast corner of Old Prospect Hill, at the top of a very large hill that overlooks the rest of the cemetery.  Dustin Cheney’s gravesite is located just to the right of the entrance and is marked by a very tall gravestone and the family name carved at the base (see photo below).  Clark Dibble’s gravesite is located a few feet northeast of Dustin Cheney’s gravesite.  Dibble’s gravestone is a tall spire in the shape of the Washington Monument (also see photo below).  Under Clark Dibble’s name is the word “Cockawasaw.”  This is the name that the Native Americans called Dibble, and the meaning of the name is said to have something to do with the wind.  Clark only lived to be 41 years old, and died 8 years after settling in Dibbleville, and only 8 months after his friend, Dustin Cheney, had passed.

This marked the end of our visit to Fenton.  We really enjoyed the short time we spent there, especially feeling fortunate to have been there on the day of their River Fest.  If we had not planned to visit so many additional places, we may have just made a whole day of it and enjoyed some more great music in the park.  But it was nearly mid-afternoon now, and we had several more stops we wanted to make, the next being our second (or, technically, third) winery of the day.

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