AKA: 

Number of Burials (approximate):  100

Dates of Activity: 1850 - 1986

Documentation/Publication: 

CCGS, The Cemeteries of Colebrook, East Keating, Grugan, Leidy, Noyes, and West Keating Townships (2008)

Directions/GPS: 

From the intersection of Jay and Water Streets in Lock Haven (the Lock Haven Courthouse), travel west on Water Street for 1 mile.  Turn right onto PA Route 120 (Susquehanna Avenue) and travel 29.3 miles.  Turn right onto Route 144 (Drury Run Road).  Travel 11.5 miles, crossing Kettle Creek.  On the other side of the bridge, bear right on PA Route 144 and travel 6.3 miles, crossing into Potter County.  Just after you come into the county, the cemetery will be on your right, along PA Route 144.

GPS Coordinates = N41 29.022  W 77  48.974

Landowner / Caretaker:

Condition/Needs: 

Very good

History:

Stewardson Township, Potter County, was formed in 1844 from part of Eulalia Township, and was named for Thomas Stewardson, an early landowner.  By 1853 there were 14 resident taxpayers.  Most settlement occurred in the region just above the Leidy Township, Clinton County border, in the area known as Cross Fork, along Kettle Creek.  Ole Bull, the famous Norwegian violinist, settled a colony of 300 Norwegians and Danes in the area in 1852.  The experiment was not successful, but some individuals remained, and Ole Bull State Park is a reminder of this era.

Another early resident of Cross Fork was Miles Thompson, who kept a sawmill and was twice elected Potter County sheriff.  He is buried in the Cross Fork Cemetery.  The cemetery was established early to meet the needs for burial of the early settlers.  As it is just over the Potter County line from Clinton County, and in the general Cross Fork region where Clinton Countians lived, died, and are buried, it is included in this work. 

The Cross Fork area experienced its heyday during the lumbering boom of the 1890s and early 1900s.  During a period of little more than a decade, the population swelled to more than 1200 and a large town grew up.  After lumbering died down, families moved away, houses burned down, and the small village of Cross Fork is much closer to its 1850 population figure.

An initial cemetery reading by Robert and Maxine Currin, done in 1977 for the Potter County Historical Society, was completely rewalked and updated for this work by CCGS members.