HISTORY

The current location of the Wellsboro Cemetery was not the original location. The town of Wellsboro was founded in 1806 and incorporated in 1830. Established out of necessity was the first location of the original Wellsboro Cemetery on Pearl St. That would suffice for many years until there was no more room. Knowing there was a need for a larger cemetery the founding settlers sought out a new site. This is now the location of the Wellsboro Cemetery. A portion of land was purchased from Stephen F. Wilson, and his well-known Log Cabin Mausoleum is located on a bit of what used to be his farm. The cemetery was incorporated in 1849 but, the actual move to the property didn't happen until 1855. James S. Bryden was an integral part of finding the cemetery grounds. He was a surveyor, and it was said that he was quite excited to be present for the first burial. As fate would have it, he was the first burial here in 1856. You can find headstones that date back before his passing, but those were moved here from other cemeteries. Among those are Benjamin Morris (one of the founders of Wellsboro) and his wife Mary Wells, the said namesake of Wellsboro.