April 23, 2009 was designated “The Lomenick Family Day” by Mike Steele, Mayor of East Ridge, Tennessee. The proclamation included the following history of the Lomenick family.

The family of Pressley Roofus Lomenick migrated to America from Alsace-Lorraine, France, and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania around 1770. The family relocated to East Ridge, Tennessee around 1820.

Pressley Roofus Lomenick was educated and practiced as a land surveyor and engineer. Mr. Lomenick amassed large sections of land, including most of East Ridge proper, as land parcels at that time were commonly deeded by state and local governments to surveyors for services in lieu of monies.

In 1847, as a result of the cholera plagues, Mr. Lomenick started a cemetery located on a hill very near the house on the original homeplace.

In the 1850s Mr. Lomenick traveled to New Orleans to secure slaves, but was so outraged by the process that he returned as a non-slave advocate. Pressley Roofus Lomenick was assassinated in 1865 at his estate by a group of disgruntled ruffians who did not like his views on slavery. After Mr. Lomenick’s death, family members took over the operation of the cemetery.

​Founded in 1847, the Lomenick Cemetery is the oldest continuously operated cemetery in Hamilton County. The Lomenicks constructed the first of a series of community mausoleums that would service the City of East Ridge and surrounding areas for generations to come.

​The cemetery is much more than a graveyard; it documents the social, political, cultural and military history of the community of East Ridge through the lives of its citizens.