Pleasant Valley Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll pass it along just as it stands. Out in Clay County, there's a piece of ground called Pleasant Valley Cemetery, and the story of that place goes back to the years right after the Civil War. That's when the community of Pleasant Valley got its start, folks settling into a new life in a new land, building something out of open country.

First thing a community like that needs is a gathering place, so they put up a one-room schoolhouse. And the way it worked in those days, that schoolhouse wasn't just for the children on weekday mornings. Come the weekend, it served as a place of worship too.

One building carrying the whole weight of a community's future and its faith. That's a lot to ask of four walls and a roof, but Pleasant Valley asked it, and those walls answered. Now, close by that school site, the ground was set aside for something quieter.

In 1883, a pioneer settler named Jim Draer donated the land, and Pleasant Valley Cemetery was established. The earliest documented burial there is that of Lydia Bowman, born in 1873 and laid to rest in 1883. Think about that for a moment.

The cemetery is barely established, the ink still fresh on whatever deed Jim Draer signed over, and already the land is receiving its first soul. Many early settlers followed across the years, finding their final rest in Pleasant Valley ground. And among them, veterans.

Veterans of the Civil War. Veterans of World War I and World War II. Veterans of Korea.

Generation after generation, answering a call and then, in time, coming home to this quiet corner of Clay County. The place has not been forgotten. A cemetery association maintains the historic graveyard to this day.

Pleasant Valley may have started as a schoolhouse and a prayer, but that ground has been holding stories ever since 1883, and somebody is still making sure those stories are kept.

What the marker says

The community of Pleasant Valley was begun following the Civil War. A one-room schoolhouse was built for the residents of the area and also served as a place of worship. This cemetery, located near the school site, was established in 1883 on land donated by pioneer settler Jim Draer. The earliest documented burial is that of Lydia Bowman (1873-1883). Many early settlers are interred in the cemetery, as are veterans of the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and Korea. A cemetery association maintains the historic graveyard. (1988)