The annual meeting of members of the Drawdy-Rouse Cemetery will take place on Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 10 a.m. All members are welcome to attend.

Reminder! Dues are dues! You may pay your $50 dues online using PayPal or credit card, or you may send a check to

Drawdy-Rouse Family Cemetery, Inc.

P. O. Box 677725

Orlando, FL 32867-7725

Watch your mailbox for the the next newsletter which will have information about the April 1, 2023 meeting. 

 

The Drawdy-Rouse Cemetery is the second oldest cemetery in Orange County, Florida. On October 2,  2021 we gathered to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the cemetery. The cemetery is a beautiful, tree covered peaceful cemetery located in east Orange County, Florida.

It was as GREAT day for the Drawdy-Rouse Cemetery on February 12, 2023 when the William P. Duval Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated their first-ever DAR historic plaque at the cemetery. There were over 70 people in attendance. We enjoyed delicious refreshments prepared by members of the chapter. Beautiful wreaths were placed on the graves of the Drawdy & Rouse pioneer couples. We were all educated in the history of these two Orange County pioneer families by Drawdy descendant Emmett Browning and Denise Aldridge, a Rouse descendant. Thanks to UCF Army Honor Guard, who are ROTC members. The objectives of the NSDR were surely in action —Patriotism, Education, and Historic Preservation.

A portion of the land where the Drawdy-Rouse Cemetery stands was originally 77 acres of land that was homesteaded in 1862 by the Drawdy family, made possible by the Homestead Act of 1862.  In 1871 the Drawdy family set aside two acres of land for a family cemetery. Local pioneers were invited to be buried in the Drawdy family cemetery.

In 1927 the Rouse family bought an equal amount of land, to the south side, which adjoined the Drawdy cemetery site. In 1986 the two cemeteries merged, for a total of four acres of cemetery.

The Drawdy-Rouse Cemetery is a Florida Not For Profit Corporation called Drawdy-Rouse Family Cemetery, Inc. The cemetery is active. The address for the cemetery is 4050 Rouse Road, Orlando, FL 32817. (Do NOT mail anything to that address as there is no mailbox there.)

Please contact Bill Rouse at 321-663-4446 or email him at drawdyrouse@yahoo.com for more information or to reserve a plot. We are not selling new plots at this time.

We accept donations to the cemetery, which will go toward the continuing maintenance of the cemetery. You may donate in honor of someone or in memory of someone who has passed.

You may donate using the button below. You can use your PayPal account, or use your credit card or debit card to donate. All transactions are secure. Or you can send us a check to the address below.

 

The cemetery is open from dawn until dusk.

When visiting the cemetery, please drive your vehicle into the cemetery, being careful not to park near tombstones. Please close the gate when you leave. For more information, please email drawdyrouse@yahoo.com.

There are 763 interments in the Drawdy Rouse cemetery.

For more info Contact:

Bill Rouse

321-663-4446

email drawdyrouse@yahoo.com

The MAILING address is:

P. O. Box 677725, Orlando, FL 32867-7725

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