In September, a footstone with the initials "M J M" was found, along with a marker base sixteen inches below ground level at the base of a very large hickory tree. Several probing attempts to locate the headstone around and under the tree were unsuccessful.

This is the gravesite of Mary Jane McCortney McDonald. She was the first wife of W. W. McDonald. They built and lived in the Old Stagecoach Stop. The footstone, which was found first under leaf debris and about an inch of soil, is in the upper middle of the picture. The base was then found by probing and it was located under the prop roots of a large hickory. It is in the upper left corner. Continued probing around and under the hickory proved fruitless.

Not wishing to give up on the prospect of finding Mary Jane's grave (for which we have been looking ten years), several more visits and probing led to striking paystone. The marker was found about eight feet beyond the base and even beyond the footer. The headstone was in the earth at an angle, from two to six inches under the surface, lying face down.

Anticipation was high upon excavating the stone. When it was rolled over, it was, indeed, that of Mary Jane McCortney McDonald.