...by Toni Collins, Levy County Historical Society
In November 1874, William R. Coulter was granted a 40-acre tract of land, located in Bronson, by the US Bureau of Land Management. A year later, a portion of the land grant became known as Coulters Plat when Coulter designated the land be used for a county courthouse, a church, and for education. Later an acre of land was dedicated as a cemetery.
At a regularly scheduled meeting of the Bronson Town Council in January, the Council Members renamed the Old Bronson Cemetery located on Capital Street behind the Levy County Courthouse, the Coulter Cemetery. The Council Members also asked the Levy County Historical Society to file an application for an Historic Marker to honor the founder, William R. Coulter.
To prepare for the filing of the application, members of the Historical Society have planned a cleanup of the cemetery on Saturday, August 29th starting at 9 AM. The cleanup will involve verifying the information on monuments, gentle cleaning of the monuments to remove stains and mold, and the locating and examination of damaged monuments. In addition, we will be talking history about the Levy County pioneers buried in the cemetery.
The Historical Society is seeking volunteers to help with the cleanup. For more information, please call Frank W. Roberts, (352) 528-9728 or Toni Collins (352) 490-5636. In the event of rain or inclement weather, the rain date will be September 12th at 9 AM.
MYSTERY CEMETERY MARKER
The monument of Nathan George who was buried in the cemetery in 1866 before it was established contains the message “buried in Allentown, PA.” Was George buried in Bronson, Levy County, FL or Allentown, Lehigh County, PA? The Historical Society contacted the Lehigh County Historical Society to try and learn more about George and why he was in Bronson in 1866. Due to the virus, the Lehigh County Society is closed. Could George have been a Union soldier garrisoned in the area after the Civil War and died here?
