A new endowment will provide perpetual funding for the ongoing maintenance, upkeep, and preservation of the Pifer Mountain Cemetery located on Jonathan Run Road in Tucker County. The fund was created by a former resident of Tucker County, Ted Wolfe, who has many ancestors buried there.
Pifer Mountain is named after Andrew Pifer who was one of the Trustees of the Pifer Mountain Church. A marker at the church states that Andrew Pifer (1824-1874) donated the land for the Pifer Mountain church and cemetery. According to Wolfe who researched the history, “they were burying people there as early as 1851 which would make Pifer 26 years old – a pretty young age to donate property for a church and cemetery. His name was on the deed, with some others, because he was one of the trustees, and he was an active supporter of the church till his death. In the old Methodist records the church was referred to as Pleasant Grove instead of Pifer Mountain, but by the teens that had pretty much faded out.”
The endowment is managed by Tucker Community Foundation. To endow a cemetery preservation fund the cemetery must have a board of trustees who will provide a yearly expense report reflecting the use of grant funds.
To donate to the Pifer Mountain Cemetery Fund, make checks payable to TCF – Pifer Cemetery Fund and mail to TCF, 737 William Ave., Suite 1, Davis, WV 26260. Online donations can be made at www.tuckerfoundation.net or www.facebook.com/tucker.commfound.
The Foundation manages more than one hundred fifteen endowed funds and provides several programs and services throughout an eight county region. Offices are located in Parsons and Davis. For more information on how to create an endowment, contact the Foundation’s Development Office at 304-259-5008.
