Pifer Mountain Cemetery Fund
TYPE OF FUND: Cemetery Preservation Sub-Fund/Field of Interest
DATE ESTABLISHED: October 2017
PURPOSE: Funds are used for the ongoing maintenance and preservation of Pifer Mountain Cemetery on Jonathan Run Road in Tucker County.
DISTRIBUTION: An annual grant will be awarded for the maintenance, upkeep, and beautification of the Pifer Mountain Cemetery in accordance with the 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: Ted Wolfe donated $10,000 to establish the fund.
BACKGROUND: Pifer Mountain is named after Andrew Pifer, a trustee of the Pifer Mountain Church and a long-time supporter of the church until his death. A marker at the church states that Andrew Pifer (1824-1874) donated the land for the Pifer Mountain church and cemetery; however, some question the timing of this donation.
According to a family member who has researched the history, “they were burying people there as early as 1851, which would have made Pifer just 26 years old—a pretty young age to donate property for a church and cemetery. The majority of his property was located further up the ridge, which he acquired from the Talbotts after marrying Keturah Talbott (his first wife died in 1854). His name was on the deed, along with those of others, because he was one of the trustees and an active supporter of the church until his passing. Without further investigation, I can't definitively say who donated the land. However, I do know that in old Methodist records, the church was referred to as Pleasant Grove instead of Pifer Mountain, but by the teens of the 1900s, that name had largely faded away.”
The donor who established this endowment has the following ancestors buried at the site: Karl and Grace (Poling) Wolfe, William and Clara (Miller) Wolfe, George and Caroline (Pifer) Miller, James E. and Anzina (Mitchell) Poling, Peter T. and Susan (Nestor) Poling, William and Mary (Shaffer) Fitzwater, and Andrew Pifer (his wife Keturah is reportedly buried at Miller Hill in the Talbott family graveyard).
The church is now closed and no longer in use, having been sold to a group of individuals. According to Odee Chapman’s book, “The Rest Quietly,” published in 1985, there were 426 marked burials and 74 or more unmarked burials.
