The village of Bessemer, located in the hills of western Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, became a bustling little village by the early 1900’s based on the success of the Bessemer Limestone Company, which set up local limestone mining operations beginning in about 1887. Other industries, including brick and cement plants, followed in the coming years as a boom town quickly developed. In June 1913 Bessemer, inhabited by a host of Swedish but also Finnish, Slavic, and Italian immigrant workers, was officially incorporated as the Borough of Bessemer.
To cater to the religious needs of the local Catholic population (mostly Italians) the St. Anthony Parish was founded in 1909. A new church was opened on Oak Street on the western part of town in October 1911. A cemetery was established behind the church and burials commenced in late 1911. Apparently, on adjoining property small but separate burial plots were subsequently established for members of the Swedish, Finnish, and Slavic community. A new St. Anthony Church was opened across Poland Avenue in late 1959 and the old church by the cemetery was demolished sometime after this. It seems over time all these small burial grounds became a single entity often referred to as the Bessemer Cemetery. The cemetery remains in use to this day and is appears to be very well maintained.
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dortheia j. laughlin #
my dad took care of the digging and mowing and trimming.
then brothers, glenn and lewis took over in 1972 when dad died. the;y have not taken care of the cemetery for a few years now. see how straight the tombstones are that was perfection that dad made sure and then brothers did.the same and made them straight in a row. bro today can tell you where people are buried without looking at a map.
they took pride in taking care of that cemetery. even in the winter time they would walkd thru cemetery to make sure grave sites were ok and tombstones were correctly standing and not dmaaged from weather or fallen trees. people from out of town took pictures and were soo impressed with the condition and care of the cemetery. they would say it was the best well kept cemetery around.
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