Hornor Graveyard

Also known as Dunn Cemetery and Baker Cemetery

Located on Crowley’s Ridge in Phillips County, Section 20 Range 5 East, Township 1 South. Has also been known as Dunn Cemetery and Baker Cemetery. The following stones were recorded March 1998 by John and Suzanne Jones and Wanda Ridge and this should replace the list run in the Tri-County Journal, Fall 1989:

An article contributed by Patty Smith in 2018:
The Dunn/Hornor Cemetery, located at Storm Creek, on the ridge between what Helenians know as the Low Road and the High Road, is one of Helena’s oldest cemeteries. Little did Phoebe Dunn, a widow with six children, know, when she arrived circa 1798, at the confluence of the St. Francis and Mississippi River, that she would marry two of Helena’s most influential men (William Patterson, and later, Sylvanus Phillips) and that the burial ground of her grandchildren and great grandchildren, known as the Dunn/Hornor Cemetery would fall into such disrepair.

During the early and mid 1800’s, the largest population of the area lived out in this forest in villages known as Shirley, Utica, and Sterling, and it was not until the 1850’s and 60’s that the influx of people from these villages began moving into Helena. With the lowlands flooding often, many deceased were buried on Crowley’s Ridge, or were removed from graves on the lowlands, near the river, and relocated to the ridge.

Although John Sidney Hornor maintained a home in Helena, his vast farm was located in and around what was then known as Stamp Creek, and included the ridge where the cemetery is located. (The name was later changed from Stamp Creek to Storm Creek due to a typing error.) From approximately 1850, until the land was sold to build Storm Creek Lake in the late 1930’s, burials were common along this ridge. It has been said by many old-timers, some long gone, that there are graves all along the ridge, but that it would take a four wheeler or a mule to get to them. Not so with the Dunn/Hornor Cemetery. A walk up the ridge from the marker that was placed last April at the site will take one directly to the gravesites.

While the cemetery has been covered in brush, brambles, leaves, and fallen trees, thanks to the efforts of local community historians, the entire area has been cleaned in hopes that burial sites and headstones, long removed from view, will now be visible, not only for locals, but also for family descendants who often come to view the burial site of their ancestors.

Name	Dates	Inscription/Comments
Elizabeth,	Born Feb 17, 1829 - Died Dec 7, 1852	Consort of James B. Shell
Cleburne Baker	Dec 23, 1948	79 yrs 6 mo 9 days; Funeral Home Marker (Keeshan-Lambert records birth date as June 14, 1869)
Jennie Lee Miller	Dec 16, 1942	Aged 79 years 11 mo 1 da; Keeshan-Lambert Funeral Home Marker
Samuel Royall	Died Oct 27, 1853	Aged 46 years; (One Stone) Amelia J. Royall, Alvin B. Royall, Davis T. Royall, Samma Ella Royall
Miss Ella Dunn	Born May 8, 1870 Died Dec 1, 1900
Amelia S.	Died March 19, 1853	5 mo 17 da; Dau of L. B. and M. Dunn
James,	Born March 5, 1849 Died Aug 11, 1852	Son of A. F. and D. Dunn
Lawson B.,	Born July 30, 1873, Died Sept 18, 1894	son of A. F. and Josie Dunn

These two stones were on a side of the hill opposite the other stones:
Name	Dates	Inscription/Comments
Aphaia Allen	Died June 6, 1915
Isaac Johnson	Born Feb 8th 1902 Died Oct 13, 1915

These three markers were added by Patty Smith
Name	Dates	Inscription/Comments
Mary Greenwood	Died Nov 22, 1921	Faithful member of Walnut Grove Circle No 1059
William Moore	Died 13 May 1923	Walnut Grove Circle No 1059
Norman ?		Aged 70 year; Funeral Marker mostly unreadable

These two markers were found in the Spring of 2018.
Name	Dates	Inscription/Comments
Jescintha Clark	Birth Apr 1852 Death 4 May 1853	aged 1 year; Daughter of J D & E H Shell, by her grandparents
George Porter	Birth 22 Mar 1832 Death 1 Feb 1851	aged 18 years; Son of G and L Porter

The following are from Keeshan-Lambert Funeral Home records:
Name	Dates	Inscription/Comments
Baker, Mrs. Louisa	d. April 30, 1919
Miller, Phil J.	d. Feb. 11, 1925	age 69

The following are from Cunningham-Haraway Funeral Home records:
Name	Dates	Inscription/Comments
Fitzpatrick, Betty Lou	d. Sept 6, 1927	age 3
Pinkey, Usley	d. July 9, 1926
Sherman, John	May 8, 1885 - March 3, 1933
Toliver, Henry	d. Aug. 1, 1927
Trask, Margaret	Dec. 1, 1913 - March 17, 1932

From Helena World, Jan. 15, 1917:
Name	Dates	Inscription/Comments
Mrs. Ada Sparkman	d. Jan. 14, 1917	age 51