Ebenezer Newton, William
Milton Harvey Newton and his wife, Laura Hester Lee, and other members
of their large extended family, settled in the Little Piney Valley, in
what was then Pope Co., but is now eastern Johnson County, Arkansas. There
are indications that the Newtons and other pioneer families settled on
and later purchased portions of Col. Charles Hickey's
original land claim, (ca 1830-33.) Ebenezer Newton's preemption land entry
states that he was a resident of a parcel of land in Section 14 Township
10 North Range 22 West by November 1834. This date is supported by the
earliest Johnson County tax list showing the Newtons and allied families
as taxpayers for that year. An early frontier cemetery is located on that
land entry. Ebenezer Newton died about 1865 but no marker has been found
for his grave, in Newton Cemetery or in any other cemetery in the area.
In 1872, William Milton Harvey Newton, brother of Ebenezer, purchased a
portion of Ebenezer's estate in Section 14 from Robert Blair Johnson. The
deed gives Wm. M. H. Newton "a certain lot of land 100 feet square
. . . where lie burried [sic] his children and friends for a burying ground
for himself children & c . . ." One of Wm. M. H. Newton's and
one of Ebenezer's sons, as well as other family members are known to be
buried at Newton Cemetery. Cairns and rock-lined plots are the style of
the earliest burials in this cemetery. The estimated dates of these graves,
the early date of the land claim, Col. Hickey's involvement with the earliest
state militia in the county and the prominence of the Newton family in
Perry Twp. and Johnson County, make Newton Cemetery a potential candidate
for the National Register of Historic Places.
Newton Cemetery had been neglected
for many years and was overgrown with spirea (bridal wreath) and briars.
Large trees had grown up inside the cemetery and within several graves.
All-terrain vehicles had been ridden through the cemetery and had caused
damage to several graves. Reports were made of commercial markers being
tossed over a nearby embankment. Illegal dumping and littering had occurred
within the cemetery. Several community members, many of whom are Newton
descendants, were determined to bring Newton Cemetery out of its unkempt
state and take the action necessary to preserve this historic burial ground
as an outdoor cultural museum for future generations. In October 1998,
they met with Tammie Dillon and Randy Jeffrey, representatives of the Arkansas
Historic Preservation Program.
More than thirty community
and 4-H volunteers and Newton family members have worked to reclaim the  Newton
Cemetery. Following approved guidelines, volunteers removed trees,
cut brush, and disposed of litter. After more than one hundred cumulative
hours of work, the cemetery emerged from more than fifty years of overgrowth.
Future plans include formation of a non-profit cemetery association, creating
a detailed site map, fencing the burial ground, additions of memorial
stones for persons reported to be buried at the site, and application
to the National Register. A bank account has been set up to receive contributions
for maintenance and fencing. For more information contact: Faye Tate, treasurer,
Patricia
Rowbotham, or Debra Blackard.
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