Fort McCoy Historic Cemetery dates back to the mid 1800s when the land with the Union Church was donated by Lovett Williams and the Carlton Family. The Rev. Lovett Williams and his wife Mahalia settled in the area around 1842 where eventually they were buried in there own cemetery they donated. 

Also here was a senator for Florida named Gabriel Priest in 1846. There is a man buried there that has no education yet all six of his children received degrees and he perished in 1904.  Many of those that are buried here are actually veterans of Fort McCoy which the fort name eventually captured the name of the town and cemetery as well.

The cemetery is fairly large nestled in a small community many of the stones are very weathered, tilted at angles, and very old. Many of the first settlers in the Fort McCoy area are buried here and as far as it being haunted its a very active place. 

The church near by in the was constructed of logs and was used by the Baptist and Methodist. During the week it served as a school. We did not see the church or even know if it stands but its supposed to be a block or two away from the cemetery. Many of the burials that have taken place were those who belonged to the Union Church. The log building was eventually replaced in 1875 with a two story wood frame building. Strangely the Mason controlled the upstairs of the church. 

As for as the fort goes it was called Fort MacKay it had blockhouses on the other side of the lake near the cemetery. It was shut down during the third Seminole War in 1855-56. After the war it was reestablished but used as a post office by James W. Stephens till about 1887. In 1857 a school known as the Orange Grove was located near the fort  after it closed down just as during the Seminole War a log cabin schoolhouse was abandoned around the same time the fort was shut down.

After the fort had been shut down all that remained was its site. A house was built in 1913 for the Melin family who lived near the grass lake. Agnes Melin use to play the piano for silent movies which were shown at the local Opera House. I believe  the Melin Family is also buried within the cemetery. So lots of history to the area and the cemetery.

© By

Rick-LordOfThyNight