Jenny Barron Landis
Dorcas Armstrong Holt Buchanan, her son, Col. Arthur Buchanan, Jr. and other members of the Buchanan family are buried in the Old Town Cemetery, at the corner of South Brown and Water streets in Lewistown. The diamond-shaped headstone was placed on Dorcas’ grave in 1835.

LEWISTOWN — Throughout history, the people and events that shaped America have been well-documented. From national heroes to local legends, the stories of those who forged our nation have remained. There are hundreds of monuments to glory in every state, dating from the earliest inhabitants to modern day, reminders that the past should never be forgotten.

A local landmark is among the sacred grounds of recorded history. Its stone wall and iron gate partially surround and protect the departed inhabitants who stepped into the annals centuries ago. The Old Town Cemetery, at the corner of South Brown and Water Streets in Lewistown, is where many of the town’s founders and early residents are laid to rest.

“Jean [Laughlin, of the Mifflin County Historical Society] started researching the cemetery, as opposed to its occupants, late last year,” Jenny Barron Landis, executive director of the Juniata River Valley Visitors Bureau, said. “She uncovered newspaper articles from 1852 that detail the cost to build the walls, re-dedication articles from 1934 when the Brown Street fence was repaired and many photos.”

After the American Revolutionary War, the young nation began to take shape. Lewistown was laid out in 1790 as the county seat for Mifflin County.

At the time, the cemetery consisted of two lots laid out by owner Samuel Edmiston and set aside for “a meeting house (church) and burial ground.” Although a building was never erected, the first burials took place in the early-1790s. In 1802, a deed for lots 15 and 16 of the original plot of Lewistown was drawn and given to the county commissioners.

Until 1814, when area churches purchased land for burial grounds, the Old Town Cemetery was the only one of its kind. Many of Lewistown’s early dignitaries are interred there, including Dorcas Armstrong Holt Buchanan, her son, Col. Arthur Buchanan Jr. and four Revolutionary War veterans.

“This small corner of Downtown Lewistown is the only trace of our community’s pioneers, the people that moved in and built this town located at the juncture of the Juniata River and Kish Creek,” Landis said. “We talk a lot about Dorcas Buchanan’s role in our history but there were others that followed her family here in the subsequent years. Surviving gravestones give a glimpse of not only who they were but in some cases, where they came from. Preserving this cemetery gives us a physical location to connect with these people and continue the cultural and social connection we have with our past.”

The Buchanan story played an integral part in Lewistown’s early days. Dorcas was born circa 1711 in Ireland. She would eventually become the first female settler from Europe to live and own land in Mifflin County. After the death/disappearance of her first husband, Dorcas married Arthur Buchanan. The couple, along with children from previous marriages, moved from Carlisle to Lewistown in 1754, where Arthur opened a trading post.

The Buchanan family returned to Carlisle prior to the French and Indian War. Arthur Sr. died there in 1760. Dorcas, Arthur Jr. and other family members returned to Lewistown in 1762. The Buchanan’s went back to Carlisle in 1763, but again returned to Lewistown in 1765, this time for the duration of Dorcas’ life.

When the Buchanans returned to the area in 1762, papers were filed for land. Dorcas received several hundred acres in what is now Downtown Lewistown.

Arthur Buchanan Jr. became colonel in command of the Fifth Battalion of Cumberland County when the militia was organized on July 31, 1777. There were eight companies of Mifflin County men under his command. He was an important figure during and after the American Revolution. He later became owner of Lewistown’s first inn. The first session of Mifflin County Court was held there on Dec. 8, 1789.

Dorcas died at age 93 on Jan. 22, 1804. Arthur Jr. died in 1807. The mother and son are buried side by side with other family members in the Old Town Cemetery.

The cemetery was dedicated to Dorcas Buchanan and Mifflin County Historian George R. Frysinger in 1934.

“Sharing our town’s history can build a stronger sense of identity for not only kids but people of all ages,” Landis said. “Knowing history, whether it’s world history or local history, helps people understand how events in the past made things the way they are today. Ideally we learn from prior mistakes but also find cultural identity as well as reasons to be proud of the people that founded Mifflin County.”