Garards Fort is a small community in Greene Township that dates to the days of the early Western frontier. The village takes its name from a pioneer-era fort that played a role in the frontier defenses of the area in the years leading up to the Revolutionary War.
This area was also one of the first to be settled. Folks were living here as early as the 1760s, long before Greene County was established, and before the concept of the United States had fully been realized.
Tucked away up a short lane that leads off Garards Fort Road and marked by a sign that is always decorated with flags is the Garards Fort Cemetery. Generally considered the oldest cemetery in the county, this site stands as a testimony to the early history of Greene County and the region.
It’s worth a walk through Garards Fort Cemetery, also sometimes known as Goshen Cemetery or Goshen Baptist Church Cemetery or for its affiliation with the Corbly family. The Reverend John Corbly played an integral role in the Whiskey Rebellion. He is known for the Indian attack on his family in 1782. His grave, and the graves of his family, are near the southwest corner of the cemetery.
The Corbly graves are in the oldest part of the cemetery, and that section is perhaps the most interesting section to walk through. There you will find a wide variety of stones: some professionally carved, others lovingly carved by hand by loved ones of the deceased. Be careful walking around this section—many of these small handmade markers are low to the ground. Some markers bear interesting and beautifully carved, yet simple, inscriptions.
Unfortunately, many stones were lost to time, having sunk into the ground, or fallen over. In 1975, Dorothy and James Hennen made a record of the cemetery (Volume 8, Cemetery Records of Greene County Pennsylvania, published by Cornerstone Genealogical Society). In that they quote a much older, but undated, record that gives information for a Livengood burial marked by a simple fieldstone marker with a date of death in 1766. However, the Hennens were unable to locate this marker.
As you move east through the cemetery, the graves get younger and younger. There is also a newer section in the northernmost part of the cemetery. Many veterans from the Revolutionary War onward are buried here, and each year volunteers and members of the community put fresh flags on all the veterans’ graves, an exquisite and humbling sight.
If you have the time to do so, get a copy of Bates 1888 History of Greene County Pennsylvania (available for a low price at both the Greene County Historical Society and Cornerstone Genealogy) or for free online via Google Books. Look at the biographical section for Greene Township and see how many of the folks you can find in the cemetery. Study on their lives and times for just a little while.
