How many times have you driven past the cemetery at Bullittsville Road and Park Street without knowing that two Revolutionary War veterans are buried there? After Sunday, October 18, there will be a new marker that says so.
Plenty of America 250 coverage is about national ceremonies. In Burlington, the anniversary shows up closer to home. It's a new historical marker in the county seat's old cemetery, an outdoor history exhibit at the Main Library that opened this summer, and a month of evening tours at Dinsmore Homestead about how 19th-century Boone County families dealt with death. None of these were planned as one series. Taken together, though, they make a single route around the oldest part of town, and you can do it in an afternoon.
Two new names at Old Burlington Cemetery
The Simon Kenton Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution is holding a Patriot Grave Marking Service at Old Burlington Cemetery on Sunday, October 18, at 2 p.m. Two veterans will be honored: Colonel Israel Gilpin and Private Stephen Collins. The Boone County Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Boone County Historic Preservation Review Board are partners on the event. The Review Board is the county body that manages Old Burlington Cemetery, so the people who look after the grounds all year are part of the ceremony too.
The new marker comes from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation's Patriot Burials program, and the Kentucky Society of the Sons of the American Revolution received the grant. According to the foundation, both Gilpin and Collins were buried in the cemetery between 1834 and 1841. Its listing gives the address as 5800 Bullittsville Road, Burlington.
Collins' story begins a long way from here. The national SAR patriot database lists him as a Connecticut private, born in New Milford on November 1, 1754. It credits his service under Captain Josiah Starr and Colonels Mosley and Samuel Canfield, and it records his death in Boone County on June 23, 1841. The database also says it has no SAR application on file for Collins and that its record is a research aid, not proof. The finer details of his service may still be filled in.
Boone County Parks' 2026 newsletter says the ceremony will also include a Liberty Tree dedication. In the DAR's America 250 materials, Liberty Trees are living memorials that recall the Revolutionary-era trees where colonists gathered in public and protested. Planting one means the commemoration keeps growing on the cemetery grounds long after the 250th has passed.
Before you go, know that the two listings give different end times. Boone County Parks lists 2 to 4 p.m., and Kentucky SAR lists 2 to 3 p.m., with a color guard muster at the start. Arrive by 2 p.m. and you'll see the main program either way. The public is welcome. The SAR's registration form is for people taking part in the ceremony, not for spectators.
Gilpin is already on the wall at the library
One of the men being honored on Bullittsville Road is already part of a Burlington exhibit. On June 28, the Boone County Public Library opened "Patriots, Pioneers & Places That Transformed the County," an outdoor History Walk at the Main Library, 1786 Burlington Pike. Its introduction names Israel Gilpin, along with Cave Johnson and Daniel Goff, as Revolutionary War veterans who "helped shape the early fabric of Boone County by establishing homes, farms and communities on the frontier."
The walk was paid for through America250KY, the Kentucky Historical Society's statewide program for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The panels have QR codes that open longer digital content curated by the library, and there's a virtual guestbook.
The walk covers more than the Revolution. It begins with the Ice Age animals drawn to the salt springs at Big Bone Lick and moves on to Tanner's Station, which the library calls the county's earliest settlement, and to the Germanna settlers. It includes Margaret Garner and Henrietta Wood, whose lives tie Boone County to the history of slavery along the Ohio River. It also includes Nancy's Letter, a document the library describes as a quieter look at everyday life.
Seeing the walk first gives the cemetery ceremony more meaning. At the library, Gilpin is a name on a list of early settlers. At Old Burlington Cemetery, he's one of two patriots being honored at the graveside. You can see both on the same Sunday.
Dinsmore picks up the same thread
Dinsmore Homestead, at 5656 Burlington Pike, is spending October on a subject that connects to the cemetery. "Death at Dinsmore" runs October 16, 17, 23, and 24 from 7 to 9 p.m., with a tour starting every 30 minutes. Here's how the homestead describes the evening:
"With tours running every half hour, docents will share tales of mourning traditions, melancholy and macabre medicinal cures — some of which may even have worked."
The tours tell the stories of the Dinsmore family and the men, women, and children who worked for them. Visitors see the parlor arranged as it likely was for Susan Dinsmore's funeral in 1851. Gilpin and Collins were buried less than two decades earlier, so the mourning customs the docents describe are close to what Burlington families practiced in their time. Tickets cost $10 for adults and $3 for children ages 5 to 15. Reservations are made online through Dinsmore Homestead.
A Sunday route for October 18
Since the library walk is outdoors and the ceremony starts at 2 p.m., the 18th works well as a loop:
- Late morning at the Main Library, 1786 Burlington Pike. Walk the History Walk panels, and use the QR codes for any stories you want to read in full.
- Lunch on North Jefferson Street. Washington Square Café is at 5981 N. Jefferson Street in the historic Joseph Graves House. Tousey House Tavern is close by at 5963 N. Jefferson Street. Zozo's Tavern at 5991 N. Jefferson Street is also on the block, but online listings disagree about its hours, so call ahead.
- 2 p.m. at Old Burlington Cemetery, Bullittsville Road and Park Street. Watch the color guard muster, the service honoring Gilpin and Collins, the marker dedication, and the Liberty Tree planting.
- Optional evening. "Death at Dinsmore" doesn't run on Sundays, so book the 16th or 17th beforehand, or the 23rd or 24th afterward.
The rest of the month, in order
Burlington's other October dates fit around that Sunday:
- Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16–17, 7–9 p.m.: "Death at Dinsmore," first weekend.
- Sunday, Oct. 18, 2 p.m.: Patriot Grave Marking Service and Liberty Tree dedication at Old Burlington Cemetery.
- Tuesday, Oct. 20, 1–2:30 p.m.: A free Fall Color Walk at the Boone County Arboretum, 9190 Camp Ernst Road in Union. You have to register.
- Friday and Saturday, Oct. 23–24, 7–9 p.m.: "Death at Dinsmore," second weekend.
- Saturday, Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m.: Boone County Parks' Jack-O-Lantern Contest & Walk. The calendar doesn't list a location yet, so check the Boone County Parks page before you carve.
Boone County Parks takes registrations for its programs at 859-334-2117.
What changes after the 18th
Most of what's on this list is gone by November. The Dinsmore tours end on the 24th, the color walk only happens once, and the fall calendar empties out. Two things stay. The History Walk will still be outside the Main Library, and the Pomeroy marker will still be at Bullittsville Road and Park Street. After this month, Burlington has two new public spots that explain who was buried in its old cemetery and how they got here. The cemetery has been in town for close to two centuries, and from the 18th on it will be marked to match.
If you already know the area, our earlier posts on family-friendly things to do in Burlington and Burlington homes with historic charm go further into the town's older blocks. Our Burlington neighborhood page brings local updates together in one place.
If you own one of the older homes near the historic district and wonder how its history affects its value today, K2 Home Team is glad to talk it through over coffee on Jefferson Street. Schedule your free consultation, and bring along anything you know about your house.
