By Liz Knott
Moundsville Daily Echo
MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — Mount Rose Cemetery, Moundsville’s oldest cemetery, is of great historical significance to West Virginia with many gravesite stones dating back to the late 1700s. 
Mount Rose Cemetery is the historical burial ground for many notable 19th century citizens of Moundsville and Marshall County. Several historically significant citizens such as the founding families of Jonathan Roberts, Captain Joseph Tomlinson and Colonel J. H. Lockwood. It’s also the final resting place of author Davis A. Grubb and of G.S McFadden, the first warden of the W.Va. Penitentiary and last private owner of the Grave Creek Mound.
A Victorian style cemetery, Mount Rose has at least 96 trees growing and planted throughout the cemetery. On the east side of Mount Rose, there is also a separate cemetery, Greenlawn Cemetery. Both cemetery’s are landlocked and there is not much opportunity for development of additional gravesites.
Jim Stultz is a board member of the cemetery and is working to draw attention and recognition to the cemetery, which has many stones that date back in the late 1700s. Several stones are unreadable due to the amount of weathering over the years, Stultz said.
“My intent is to bring about recognition of the cemetery and to begin a process to try to formally raise money and establish a board so it will be maintained due to the regional treasure located at Mount Rose,” said Stultz.
The Tomlinsons were the original founders of the community of this area. John G. Tomlinson farmed most of the ground near the historic Mound. Captain Joseph Tomlinson, also buried at Mount Rose, was enlisted into the 12th WV Infantry. He took active part in the battles of Winchester, Cedar Creek, Hatcher’s Run, Fort Gregg, Petersburg, Appomattox C.H and several others, receiving an honorable discharge in June of 1865. In 2014, a plaque was dedicated to Captain Joseph Tomlinson of the Revolutionary War, captain of the Gaurd by the Sons of the Revolutionary War.
Jonathan Lockwood, a Marshall County Civil War hero, is buried in Mount Rose Cemetery. Lockwood was a lieutenant colonel who commanded the Seventh Regiment of the West Virginia Infantry, or “Bloody Seventh”, at Gettysburg on the second day on Cemetery Hill. He was successful in helping to repulse a confederate charge which was pretty significant because if the position had been overrun, then it is entirely possible that the union line would have been broken on the second day of battle. Lockwood and his men took part in many other battles. Lockwood Avenue is named after him. There are a number of early founders, early professionals and early clergy buried in Mount Rose Cemetery.
John Roberts, another notable Moundsville citizen, served as a deputy sheriff in 1862. He was born around Round Bottom Hill and his grandfather, Jonathan Roberts, migrated to Moundsville in 1796 and settled at Roberts Ridge.
Author and novelist, Davis A Grubb, was born in Moundsville and created several short stories and novels that would later be made into motion films. His first novel “Night of the Hunter” became an instant best seller and was deemed culturally significant by the Library of Congress and was preserved in the United States National Film Registry. In 1969, his novel “Fools Parade” was made into a motion picture.
Originally, Mount Rose Cemetery was set up to be a site for Civil War veterans. There are around 100 Civil War veterans buried at the cemetery currently and it is the largest gathering of Civil War dead in the county. There are also specific marks on the gravesites for the Grand Army of the Republic, (GAR). The GAR was a fraternal organization of union veterans.
In the 1770s there was a group of men that were ambushed by indians and killed near the north end of the narrows, which was known as the Foreman Massacre. Twenty one men were led by Captain Foreman and lost thier lives. There was a stone in their honor where the battle occured but was then moved to Mount Rose Cemetery for construction reasons.
