Cemetery/Burial
HISTORY
Our cemetery was founded to serve the families of the lower Steele Creek community. The tombstones tell the history of many families who have found their final resting place in our peaceful country-side setting.
The oldest marked grave is that of Mary M. Erwin, who died October 17, 1844 at the age of 37. She was the wife or A. R. Erwin and the daughter of Dr. W. T. and Mary D. Maclean
The grave of Captain Thomas N. Alexander, who died January12, 1940 at the age of 95, is located in our cemetery. He was the oldest Civil War soldier to die in Mecklenburg County.
Among others, a marker stands in memory of three brothers who were killed in the Civil War. Only one of them, James S. Knox, is buried at Steele Creek Presbyterian Church at Pleasant Hill. His brother, John H. Knox, is buried Staunton, Virginia, and the other brother, Joseph G. Knox, is buried in St. Petersburg, Virginia.
As of April 2017, the oldest person buried at Steele Creek Presbyterian Church at Pleasant Hill is Robert Knox Capps, who was born March 18, 1911. He passed away at the age of 104 on September 21, 2015.
Each year before the Memorial Day holiday, we honor all the veterans buried in the cemetery with an American Flag. These flags are the property of the local American Legion Post. Usually, a member of the Legion or its Auxiliary assists in placing these flags. Those who served in the Civil War they are also honored with a National Flag of the Confederacy. A delegation walks the cemetery and ceremonially places the flags on all the veterans’ graves. They are left throughout the Memorial holiday weekend and then removed.
Our cemetery is managed by the Pleasant Hill Cemetery Improvement Association which was organized in 1938. Elected officials of this volunteer organization come from Central Steele Presbyterian Church and Steele Creek Presbyterian Church at Pleasant Hill. The Association is responsible for the maintenance and improvement of the cemetery, and for the implementation of rules and regulations governing the use of the cemetery. An annual meeting is held the third Sunday of September each year at Steele Creek Presbyterian Church at Pleasant Hill. After a covered dish lunch, a business meeting is held during which time officers are elected for the next two years.