in Bad Shape |
Submitted by Lois Arthur in Gosport
I live in Gosport, In. Ephraim Goss and his wife, Anna Workman, were the
fonders of Gosport. They came here around 1825 and at first lived in a
hollow tree. It was a wilderness then, of course. Later they build a log
cabin. A hugh old tree stands in the spot where the cabin once was. I
have been there. Ephraim and another pioneer named Alexander, founded
Gosport in 1829. I live on the property once owned by Joseph Goss, whom I
believe was a son. The house is gone and another one (my house) is here.
It was build in 1892. The second Joseph Goss house, just down the road
from where I live, stood until last summer when it was finally torned down.
The people who owned the house, lived next to it in a new house. The
lady kept the house and tried to preserve it. Her husband hated it. He
said it was in his way. He told her that if he outlived her, he would tear
it down. She died in 1997 and he tore the lovely old place down in 1998.
The Gosses became very wealthy in time and had some beautiful homes. All
are gone now.
Just outside of the present town is the site I mentioned before where
Ephraim and Anna's cabin stood. Behind it, isolated now, on a hill is the
old Goss cemetery where they are buried. It is on private land, but I have
been there, just last summer. The owners gave me permission. It is
covered in weeds. Every tombstone, except one, has fallen. About 20
graves are there, mostly children, and I believe some servants. Ephraim's
tombstone is hugh and laying flat on the ground. These fallen stones are
made of limestone and their inscriptions are fading away. The only stone
standing is Anna's. It was made of pink marble and is still now as it was
then. That was how I found the cemetery. Her beautiful pink marble stone
appears to be standing all alone, peeking above the weeds, on the hilltop.
When I got closer, I tripped on Ephrain's fallen stone. As I picked my
way through the weeds, I found most of the other stones.
It is an embarrassing shame that Gosport has allowed the cemetery of the
town founders to be in such a terrible shape. Ask anyone in town, even
those who have lived here for years, where the cemetery of Ephraim Goss and
his family is, and most never even heard of it. The owners of the property
where the cemetery now stands are involved in community affairs and are the
descendents of other early settlers in Gosport. Yet, they have allowed
this historical site to fall away.