This site was discovered while I was inspecting a 1971 map of Pasco
County. This map was published in a recreational guide that basically
used DOT maps as its base. These DOT maps have marked cemetery sites
that have been located while the surveying of the roads was done for
the map's creation. When I discovered this mark I visited the area
where it was showing on the map. The site is located near Bellamy
Brothers Road near Darby. There wasn't anything visible and I even
knocked on a few doors to ask those who live in the area if they knew
anything. No one knew of any cemeteries or burials in the area. I then
began to make a few phone calls. The first person I called was my
grandmother, she is a long time residents of Pasco County and is very
knowledgeable about the area. She told me that she could remember a
house that was in that area and in the front yard was a headstone that
was visible from the road. She didn't know who the grave had belonged
to but she does remember seeing it. Wanting to be sure that this was
the site she was referring to I called another long time resident from
the Hudson area. She also was able to confirm that in the front yard,
on this property, that there was a headstone located near the corner.
She also could remember seeing this from the road during her many trips
to the Pioneer Museum in Dade City. She could not remember when the
last time was that she saw the headstone but she did tell me that the
house on this property was no longer there. She didn't know any other
information and this site seemed to be a mystery until I was contacted
by a life long resident of the Darby/ St. Joe area. I asked if he knew
anything about this site and he proceeded to explain the history.
At some point George and Ada Lauramoore lived there. George passed away in 1972 and at his request he was buried in the Dunedin Cemetery. Some 5 years later his wife Ada passed away in 1977. Ada requested that she be buried on their property. The family met Ada's request and interred her behind the home on the property. At some point the family thought it necessary to move Ada. Some claim this was because the family realized they would have to deed an acre of the property as a cemetery perhaps they also realized this would have caused a damper on any future land sales of the prime highway frontage property, others claim the family struggled with seeing Ada in the yard every time they went outside. The reasons do not matter the important thing is we know there are not any unmarked graves at this location. It is rather unfortunate that most burial sites like this one have had the headstones removed or stolen and they now lie unmarked only to be discovered by the backhoe of a construction crew or by an eager historian. Ada was relocated and placed next to her husband, George Moody Lauramoore, in the Dunedin Cemetery where she can rest in peace under the watchful eye of the cemetery maintenance staff.
This article was contributed by Jeff Cannon. It was last revised on Aug. 13, 2005.