'The general wants to be heard:' Restoration eyed for tomb of Samuel McCartney Jackson, Apollo's most famous citizen

The open archway into Gen. Samuel McCartney Jackson’s mausoleum stares blankly over the hillside at Old Apollo Cemetery, battered by years of crude graffiti and neglect but still structurally sound.

Only a few stones have fallen, including one with the Civil War hero’s year of death: 1907.

“It still has great promise in terms of restoration,” William Kerr said outside the mausoleum on an unseasonably warm October afternoon — a pleasant day for a walk down the wooded path to the tomb.

Kerr is co-founder of the Gen. Samuel McCartney Jackson Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the many structures and stories around town dedicated to, as he put it, Apollo’s most famous citizen. Capt. Robert Jackson — a first cousin, four times removed, of Gen. Jackson — is the other founder.

There are no caskets or remains inside the tomb. About 50 years after he was first interred, the remains of Jackson and family members were relocated to a new mausoleum in the modern section of the cemetery, where they remain to this day. It sticks out for its size and pristine condition in a field of otherwise modest markers.

But the foundation, in cooperation with the Apollo Area Historical Society and Apollo Area Lions Club, wants the old monument to stick out for positive reasons, too, and is trying to raise about $16,000 to make it happen.

Some work to clear the path already has been done by volunteers with oil and gas firm BHE GT&S.

The rest of the project would involve removing debris in and around the mausoleum, resetting fallen stones, pressure-washing the structure, adding an iron gate and installing a security camera to deter vandals, among other tasks.

Project organizers also hope to clean up the nearby Civil War circle of honor at the base of the Grand Army of the Republic cannon memorial, restored by the Apollo Area Historical Society in 2013. Day-to-day caretaking of the old Apollo Cemetery, such as grass cutting and pruning trees, is handled by the Apollo Area Lions Club.

So far, the three groups have raised roughly $12,000. Donations have come from within, as well as from BHE GT&S and many individual contributors.

Why go through all this trouble? Matt Hankinson, founder and president of the Armstrong County Civil War Round Table, said he’s just taking orders.

“I think the general wants to be heard,” he said just outside the tomb, a black leather folder full of history on one of the country’s darkest times tucked under his arm.

No battles were fought in Apollo, or Western Pennsylvania for that matter, “but the men and women here endured the Civil War,” Hankinson noted.

Gen. Jackson, born on a farm near Apollo in 1833, rose from a drummer boy to a captain by the time the country had torn itself apart. After displays of keen judgment in the conflict’s most famous battles, including Gettysburg, he earned the rank of brigadier general in the Union Army.

Upon his return to Apollo, Gen. Jackson organized the Apollo Savings Bank — now known as the Apollo Trust Co. — started a sheet-metal business and served as burgess, a position akin to mayor.

He continued to climb the political ranks. From 1869 to 1893, he spent time as a representative, senator, revenue collector and treasurer in the state government.

In 1883, Gen. Jackson hired a local carpenter to build him a four-story, 20-room home that boasted indoor plumbing and a carriage house — amenities almost unheard of at the time.

Today, the Jackson House is owned by Capt. Jackson. He bought the Italianate-style property at 411 Terrace Ave. in 2019 from a couple he credited for keeping the property well maintained and full of period-accurate furniture.

The foundation partly is designed to help Jackson keep up with day-to-day upkeep and any restoration needs that arise, not just for the sake of his lineage, he said, but the whole community.

“Our family has been on the same farm since 1775 or thereabout in Apollo. My parents still live there. The general grew up on the same farm that I did,” he said. “I’ve always felt a strong connection to family and Apollo.

“It kind of felt like if no one else was going to do it, that fell to me,” he added.