Around 75 people participated in the Russell County Public Library’s Living History Cemetery Tour Monday evening at the Jamestown Cemetery, according to Kim Little, who heads the genealogy department at the main branch.

“I was very surprised and very happy that so many people showed up and had an interest in the history of the town and an interest in people from our county’s past,” Little said.

Past Russell Countians that were brought to life during the event was Simcoe Dockery, who was portrayed by Nick Shearer, James Victor Miller, who was portrayed by Mackenzie McGowan, Herbert (HB) Popplewell, who was portrayed by John Poe, Kenton Jackson Cooper, who was presented by his son, HK Cooper, Rena Lester Aaron, who was portrayed by Mary Susan Judd and James Samuel Aaron, who was presented by Richard Shivel.

“I started doing some research on people over in the cemetery and went over there to look over my options on who I could pick and how to plan my route,” she said. “It was really hard for me to pick but I just tried to base it around people who helped build Russell County and Jamestown and make it what it is.”

Little said it was difficult at times to find folks to portray those passed on but that she stayed persistent and by word of mouth and talking to various people in the community she was able to find those actors that portrayed the deceased.

“A lot of people were really curious about Simcoe Dockery and his headstone and they didn’t know a lot about him,” she said. “There were also a lot of people still living that remembered these people and that made it better to.”

Little said she plans on hosting more Living History Cemetery Tours in the future but hasn’t yet decided when the next one is going to be held. She said neighboring Adair County had put on a similar event last fall and she used their idea to create her own tour.

“This is the first event I’ve done by myself,” she said. “I think it was good for the library and good for the community.”