The specific location of the cemetery is:

Hello...

My name is Kate Maynard, a native of Portsmouth now living in Martinsburg, WV. During a recent trip home to visit my mother in Sciotodale, I visited several area cemeteries in order to document Gilliland family gravesites. As the owner/administrator for Gilliland Trails, a Gilliland family history site at www.gillilandtrails.org, I take photos and write cemetery reports to be posted to our Gilliland Trails library.

I was so impressed by one particular visit that I thought I'd send you a copy of my report on the old Shumway cemetery near Minford. Mr. Wayne Gampp has devoted so much effort to its restoration that I was very moved. He downplays any importance for the remarkable work he's done but I wanted to bring his efforts to your attention.

I just returned to Martinsburg a few days ago so I've not had time to post the report and the accompanying photos to Gilliland Trails, but once I do so you are welcome to use any of the photos you find. I had previously reported on Bennett Cemetery in Minford and Scioto Cemetery north of Lucasville. During this most recent trip I documented Mt. Joy, Old Shumway, and Friendship. There is also a Gilliland family cemetery not indicated in any indexes for Scioto County and I hope to visit it on my next trip. The folks most familiar with this cemetery are associated with the Erwin-Allen Funeral Home in Minford. Anyway, although my specific interest is in recording Gilliland gravesites there may be some photos or the like which you may find of use.

Kind regards,

-- Kate

OLD SHUMWAY CEMETERY
Scioto County, Ohio
Harrison Township
Location: Off RT 335 just south of Minford. The land adjoining Shumway (there are no signs for the cemetery) is located behind two homes to the south side of the Sunshine Church of Christ. Park at the church lot. Looking east towards the airport you will see a small forested area behind the two homes. This is where the older section of Shumway is located. A small, more recent section of Shumway is situated in the back yard of a yellow house, the second house from the church. This yellow house was once church property before the new Sunshine Church building was erected.
Most references I've seen refer to a Shumway#1 and Shumway#2 to differentiate the older and newer cemeteries but since I am not familiar with which is supposed to be #1 and #2, I am simply referring to them as the older and newer sections, with the older one located in the wooded area. I did not explore the newer cemetery as the residents of that house were not around at the time I was visiting. However, I was pleasantly greeted by the residents of the other home, Wayne and Irmalee Gampp, who invited me to cross their property and explore Old Shumway.
This is one of those rare success stories of an historic cemetery that has been lovingly restored by a private and caring citizen of the community. Wayne Gampp had grown up on the family farm which is now the regional airport. At that time Old Shumway was located at the back of the Gampp family's property and he remembered riding out to the cemetery on his bicycle to spend many an hour of his boyhood reading the old stones.
After the Gampp property was purchased for the airport, the land which included Old Shumway became county property. Unfortunately, one of first things that happened after that transfer was the harvesting of the old growth forest, including many stately oaks, a process which caused considerable damage to the cemetery. Before the trees were cleared, Wayne stated that it was an easy walk through the cemetery, as the shade of the tree canopy prevented growth of underbrush and briars. With the large trees cleared, it wasn't long before the cemetery was swallowed up by the explosive growth of underbrush. Over time the condition had become so severe that the cemetery became nearly impassable and its true condition could not be determined.
But Wayne Gampp had not forgotten Old Shumway. When he and his lovely wife Irmalee took a home near the old cemetery he determined to restore the cemetery to the one he remembered as a boy. So he took upon himself the herculean task of clearing Old Shumway of all the brush and briars that had concealed it. (You can still see some evidence of the work that was involved.) Then he began the process of finding the stones, many of which had by this time been broken or buried. He accomplished this painstaking task with a probe, finding many stones which had become completely buried. Other large stones which had been broken from their base are now upright, supported by trees, stones, or supports.
Sadly, many stones were beyond saving but the ones that remain serve as indicators to the historic nature of the cemetery. I had sought out Old Shumway to record the old Gilliland family stones there and was delighted to find they are among those which have survived. I also took photos of some White family markers, many of which have also survived, along with several of the Wood family.
Walking peacefully through the now-cleared resting place for old Scioto County pioneers, I came to fully realize just how much hard, dirty work it must have taken to restore Old Shumway as Wayne Gampp had done. Chatting with him later, he was totally self-effacing about this accomplishment, stating that he simply wanted to restore Old Shumway to the place he had known as a boy. Anyone who visits the cemetery now will appreciate his humility but also realize that there was also a lot of love invested in this restoration. Old Shumway is proof that one devoted citizen with civic pride, a sense of history and unwavering determination, can make a difference -- not for monetary reward or public accolades, but simply because it's the right thing to do for those who have come before us and those who will follow.

Explore Gilliland family history and genealogy at www.gillilandtrails.org