For nearly 200 years, Historic St. Luke's was affectionately called "The Old Brick Church." Old St. Luke's Cemetery includes the area around the church and a small area across the pond. The oldest legible gravestone dates to 1767, however, Joseph Bridgers' 1686 ledger stone was moved from White Marsh Farm to inside the church in 1894. The location of many unmarked graves still remains a mystery. Archaeologists believe that only ten percent of the markers still exist.

The infamous British Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton camped here during the Revolutionary War on his way to raid Smithfield. The large red oak tree he camped under was named for him. Felled by a lightning strike in 1875, that same tree has many descendents on the grounds today.

Along with several veterans of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, there are twenty-six soldiers of the Confederacy buried in the old cemetery. Confederate troops camped on the grounds in 1861 called Camp Ruffin, while forming military companies and regiments. However, only one soldier is said to have perished here.

It is a rare sight to see a burial in Old St. Luke's Cemetery since plots are no longer sold in the old cemetery. While across the ponds, St. Luke's Memorial Park is an active cemetery open to the entire community.

Garden Club of Virginia Restoration Project

The cemetery is populated by many varieties of trees and shrubbery such as black walnut, red oak, tulip poplar, spruce, pine, cedar, dogwood, holly and boxwood. The Garden Club of Virginia designated Historic St. Luke's as a historic Restoration Project and has provided screening plants of native Virginia species against encroaching development. Some of the new varieties of native Virginia species are yaupon hollies, hornbeams, river birches, sweetbay magnolias, live and willow oaks, poet's laurel, and Franklinia tree.

Old St. Luke's Cemetery
Map of Old Cemetery

St. Luke's Memorial Park

Inventory of graves started on October 2, 2005 by the
Isle of Wight Historical Society.