Stewartsville Cemetery near Maxton, North Carolina, is shrouded in legend and lore. The first is how it came to be a cemetery. The legend says that in 1785, a Revolutionary War soldier with the surname Stewart was the first to be buried in the graveyard after losing his life in battle. The funeral party carried the wounded man for miles, looking for a suitable place to bury him. The group stopped to rest when one of the men suggested burying Stewart at the location, and the others agreed. The group dug his grave and marked it with a pine plank, and the cemetery was born.
Another legend suggests that it may be haunted. A wealthy family watched as their ill mother and wife drifted into death. The woman was washed, dressed, placed into a coffin, and buried. When grave robbers search for valuables, the woman emerges from the grave due to being in a deep coma. The men abruptly left, but the woman fully recovered, eventually giving birth to a son named Colin in 1744.
Colin was commissioned by the “High Kirk” in Scotland to preach the gospel, and in 1792, he migrated to North Carolina, where he was admitted to the Orange Presbytery in October 1792. His ministry carried him to various places in southeastern North Carolina. Still, mainly, he served from what is now Fort Bragg at Longstreet Presbyterian Church to Bethel Presbyterian Church near Raeford.
“He, along with his wife, retired to the Hill’s Creek area on North Turnpike Road in what is now Scotland County and passed on Dec. 1, 1817, and was buried in the Stewartsville Cemetery.”
Some have reported seeing a ghost near his grave over the years.
Written By: John G. Clark Jr.
Image Credit: laurinburgexchange
