Mt. Hebron Cemetery Preservation Fund
The Mt. Hebron Cemetery Preservation Fund, established in 2014 with a $20,000 donation from the Trustees of Mt. Hebron Cemetery, provides perpetual funding for the maintenance, historic preservation, and beautification of Mt. Hebron Cemetery in Canaan Valley, WV.
TYPE OF FUND: Cemetery Preservation Sub-Fund / Field of Interest
DATE ESTABLISHED: Established August 2014
PURPOSE: To provide perpetual funding for Mt. Hebron Cemetery (also known as Cortland Cemetery) located in Canaan Valley, WV.
DISTRIBUTION: An annual grant will be awarded to the Trustees of Mt. Hebron Cemetery to be used for maintenance, historic preservation, and beautification in accordance with TCF Cemetery Preservation Fund Specifications.
VARIANCE POWER: If, in the judgment of the TCF Board of Directors, the restrictions and conditions of the fund become unnecessary, incapable of fulfillment, or inconsistent with the charitable needs of the community, the TCF Board of Directors maintains the right to modify the terms of this fund.
FUNDING: The fund was established with a $20,000 donation from the Trustees of Mt. Hebron Cemetery: L. Carl Harr (Secretary), David Lesher (Treasurer), Richard Allman (Trustee), and Thomas Allman (Trustee).
BACKGROUND: Henry and Mary Rudolph Cooper arrived in Canaan Valley in 1882, bringing their seven children on a four-day journey from their farm near Winchester, Virginia. They settled on a 1,700-acre tract of virgin timber, hoping to build a future from its resources. Tragically, Mary passed away in 1886 before realizing their dream and was buried at Mt. Hebron Lutheran Church in Virginia, where she had been baptized and married.
In 1897, longing for a place of worship in Canaan Valley, Henry Cooper donated an acre of land to establish the area’s first church, which was named Mt. Hebron Lutheran Church in honor of their former congregation in Virginia. Two years later, in 1899, an additional acre behind the church was set aside as Mt. Hebron Cemetery.
Over the years, various congregations worshiped in the church, but as economic shifts led many families to move away in the 1930s and 1940s, the church building was eventually sold and dismantled. The land where it once stood is now a private residence. Despite these changes, Mt. Hebron Cemetery has endured, serving as the well-maintained final resting place for Canaan Valley’s pioneer families, their descendants, and others who have been laid to rest there as recently as last year.
