Nestled within the densely forested grounds of The Dawes Arboretum lies one of the oldest cemeteries in Licking County, Ohio. Known today as the Beard-Green Cemetery, it takes its name from two early settler families whose lives, and deaths, are closely intertwined with the county’s earliest history.

Benjamin Green, a Revolutionary War veteran, acquired land along Hog Run in February 1802. There, he and his wife, Catharine (née Beem), established their homestead and raised their family. John Beard, who assisted Virginia’s Continental troops during the Revolution, settled in Licking Township by 1806 with his wife, Margaret (née Kirk). In January 1807, Beard purchased acreage adjoining Green’s farm. The two families were formally united in 1826, when Green’s granddaughter, Rachel Pitzer, married Beard’s son, Thomas.

In the northeast corner of John Beard’s 196-acre farm, a three-quarter-acre plot bordering the Green property was set aside as a family graveyard. Known for much of its history simply as the Beard Cemetery (a name still in use as late as 1970) it became the final resting place for many of Licking Township’s earliest settlers.

Local tradition holds that the cemetery’s earliest burial occurred in 1801 and may represent the first pioneer death in Licking County: an infant child of Colonel John Stadden, the county’s first elected sheriff, and his wife, Elizabeth (née Green). If accurate, this account suggests the cemetery predates Beard’s ownership of the land. However, a commemorative plaque marking the site’s historical significance identifies the 1810 death of Adam Huffman, also a Revolutionary War veteran, as the earliest confirmed burial. Together, these accounts reflect the challenges of documenting frontier-era history.

John Beard died in February 1814 and bequeathed his farm to his sons, Joseph and Thomas. Joseph sold his share to Thomas in September 1836, leaving Thomas as the sole owner for the remainder of his life. During this period, the cemetery continued to serve the surrounding community. Among those buried there were John Beard himself and Benjamin Green, who died in September 1833, along with numerous other early and prominent residents of Licking Township, frontiersmen and families who endured hardship and isolation while helping to establish a permanent settlement in central Ohio.

In 1854, the Beard family farm was sold to John Brumback, the “highest and best bidder.” By 1910, the original 196 acres had been subdivided, with 93 acres along the cemetery’s eastern boundary owned by Elizabeth Powell.

In 1918, Beman Dawes, an oilman and former Ohio congressman, and his wife, Bertie, purchased Brumback’s wooded property north of the cemetery. They named the estate “Daweswood,” and in 1929 established the Dawes Arboretum. Over time, the Arboretum expanded to include surrounding tracts, including the land once held by Powell.

Today, the Dawes Arboretum encompasses nearly 2,000 acres of protected woodland and offers more than eight miles of public hiking trails. Its stewardship has helped preserve the Beard-Green Cemetery, ensuring that the stories of Licking County’s earliest settlers—and the family cemetery they established—continue to endure.