October 2016 - The Cemetery Detective™

Eastview Cemetery – Adairsville, Georgia

The parallel lines of Eastview Cemetery.

I am always fascinated with cemetery layouts.

One thing I’m always looking for is in what direction does the headstone face. It is common practice for headstones to face east with the interred’s head toward the west end of the grave. So, if the body were to rise up (as in during the time of the rapture) the body would be facing east toward the coming of Christ. This is not always the case, however, as seen in the Resaca Confederate Cemetery I visited earlier today. Many of those burials are in a circular pattern facing a large stone cross at the center of the cemetery.

Eastview Cemetery – Parallel Lines

Another pattern I observe is the divisions of sections of the cemetery. Eastview Cemetery in Adairsville Georgia has some of the most perfectly straight lines of any cemetery I’ve ever visited. Each section is approximately 50′ wide separated by a perfectly straight driveway. Funnily, though this cemetery is named “Eastview”, most all burial sites face west.

I can imaging in days-gone-by, this was a prestigious cemetery. The cemetery’s grass is well maintained despite the closeness of many of the grave markers. The majority of the grave markers are in decent condition. I found several very interesting oval tombstones. The marble obelisks show some signs of sugaring but their overall condition is good.

While I was strolling the grounds, reading the grave inscriptions, and doing some cemetery photography, I saw several families visiting, placing grave flowers, and visiting with their departed loved-ones.

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Confederate Cemetery – Resaca, Georgia

Confederate survivors of the Battle of Resaca; beaten, tired, and on the move, had no time to give proper burial to their brothers-in-arms.

A Nation At War

Fierce and Bloody Battles took place May 13 – 15, 1864 on the battlegrounds near the town of Resaca, Georgia. The Confederate survivors of the Battle of Resaca; beaten, tired, and on the move, had no time to give proper burial to their brothers-in-arms. Crudely dug shallow graves were not sufficient to cover the war dead. But those who had graves were the lucky ones. Most of the fallen soldiers had no burial what-so-ever. That is, until the Green family returned to their home in 1866.

Mary Jane Green Founds The Resaca Confederate Cemetery

Mary Jane Green was astonished by the site of half-buried soldiers in the battlefields of her hometown. By July of 1866, Mary Jane was raising money and finding land to give these soldiers a proper burial. Her father (Colonel John F. Green) donated 2.5 acres and Mary Jane began planning the cemetery layout.

By October 1866, all 450 burials in the cemetery were complete and a dedication occurred on the 25th of that month. Soldiers were buried according to their state of residence. Unknown soldiers were the majority and were buried around a central stone Cross.

Without a proper perimeter fence to protect the cemetery, the United Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy directed the construction of the stone wall surrounding the cemetery in 1925.

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Naomi Cemetery – Walker County Georgia

Naomi cemetery is a quaint, rural cemetery in
Walker County, GA.

A Cemetery Nestled in the Forest

October 2016

Naomi Cemetery – Walker County Georgia

Nestled within densely forested land where thick vegetation muffles the sound of distant traffic, family members mourn the passing of their young child. Tears roll gently down the mother’s flushed cheek while her parents and her husband comfort her in silence.

There is closeness and there is privacy;
their secret sorrow shared only with the
trees and the inhabitants of the woods
surrounding the graveyard.

This is Naomi Cemetery. Or, at least,
this WAS Naomi Cemetery.

Naomi cemetery is a quaint, rural cemetery in
Walker County, GA.
Burials date back generations yet it is
still an active cemetery with modern gravestones dating
as recently as this year.

When families buried their loved ones here, they chose this
location for its placid solitude; a hallowed ground where
mourning and remembrance takes place in the comforting crook of nature.

In recent months, however, the entity in charge of the
land surrounding Naomi Cemetery clear cut the entirety of
the protective forest.

Sunlight is no longer filtered through a thickened
canopy and trees no longer filter the air.

Naomi lies fully exposed and its gravestones suffer
under a layer of dust stirred up by heavy tree cutting equipment.

On the one year anniversary of their child’s
death, the young couple visits the grave site of the
child taken, too soon, from this world of life.

Their sorrow is abating with time. They are
changed and so, too, is Naomi Cemetery.

Old Baptist Revolutionary War Cemetery – Carmel, New York

Old Baptist Revolutionary War Cemetery across from Mt. Carmel Baptist Church.

Living in the southern part of the United States, I often visit cemeteries containing Civil War soldiers. I even, occasionally, find a cemetery with Revolutionary War Soldiers as with my Rock Creek Cemetery Documentary. Although, Revolutionary War soldier grave sites are rare in the south, The Revolutionary War is fascinating and I always enjoy strolling through Revolutionary War era cemeteries when I visit New England states.

A Quick Visit To The Cemeteries Of Upstate New York

Last week, I paid a quick visit to upstate New York. Particularly, I was in Carmel, New York. While there, I dropped by the Old Baptist Revolutionary War Cemetery.

Just across 52 from Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, a hand-laid stone wall protects the Old Baptist Cemetery from a constant stream of nearby traffic.

The remains of more than a dozen Revolutionary War soldiers are at rest here. I can only imagine the changes their grave sites have witnessed in the past two and a quarter centuries.

Carmel Township is Proud of the Old Baptist Burial Ground

Town residents are proud of this cemetery. This cemetery is on a small plat of land not far from the city center. The grounds are under control of the Carmel town council. They appear to do a great job in maintenance and upkeep. It always bothers me to see cemeteries with gravestones in such tight quarters. I always hope the lawn maintenance guys are being ultra-careful running their mowers around these headstones. The graves sites are well maintained and, despite their age, most of the grave markers are readable. On the day I visited, United States flags were placed at the grave site of each soldier buried here.

While walking the grounds, I felt the distinct impression that there are probably many more burials in this cemetery than the number of markers would indicate.

The Cove Cemetery – Confederate Cemetery – Chickamauga Georgia

Porter Cemetery was maintained by The Cove Methodist Church. It is now known as The Cove Cemetery.

The Civil War at Porter Cemetery

On September 17 & 18, 1863, a minor skirmish took place between Federal and Confederate soldiers near what was then known as Porter Cemetery. The brief battle involved a 4:00 AM raid by Union Horsemen. Subsequent artillery fire, lobed by the Confederates, scattered Federal troops.

No war is ever humorous. However, the accounts of this skirmish seem almost farcical even to the solder telling the story. He recounts the onset of an attack that took place so quickly, the horsemen overshot their intended targets. While the horsemen were captured in an instant, other soldiers sought cover in a field of high corn stalks. Although this skirmish was mild compared to the larger war, it was not without casualties. One Captain and several soldiers died in the battle.

With opposing factions each maintaining adjacent hilltop strongholds after the two day fight, all troops were called northward to take up arms in the Battle of Chickamauga which was fought September 18 – 20, 1863.

Porter Cemetery Becomes Cove Cemetery

Porter Cemetery was maintained by The Cove Methodist Church. It is now known as Cove Cemetery. The Cove Cemetery contains the remains of many Civil War era soldiers who died on the battlefield.

Civilians are buried here, too. Most notable in the cemetery is the grave site of the Widow Glenn. This young woman’s husband, a Confederate Soldier, was killed in the line of battle. She lived on the battlefield near Porter Cemetery and her house was commandeered, for a time, by Federal Troops.

The Widow Glenn's Gravesite — The Widow Glenn

Wood Station Cemetery – Catoosa County Georgia

I had a very pleasant time wandering the rows of neatly tended gravestones in Wood Station Cemetery.

On a slight rise, just to the east of Old Alabama Highway 151 outside of Rock Spring Georgia lies a perfectly manicured cemetery. It’s headstones are easy to read and gravestone decorations are congruent with the season.

Rural Country Cemetery

It’s October and I’m driving down Hwy. 151 on my way though the rural countryside. There are a couple things I love to see in a well-manicured cemetery. First is that the cut grass is not thrown upon the gravestones making their inscriptions unreadable. Second is that the grave decorations are fresh and congruent with the season. I dislike seeing year old plastic flowers clumped against the headstone under a mound or grass from a lawn mower’s output shoot. Wood Station Cemetery had none of this.

Set in the middle of Georgia pasture land, I could hear the cows mooing from a nearby farm. The autumn sun was setting in a golden hue and a full Hunter’s moon was rising from the east. Conditions could not have been more perfect.

Gravestones were modern yet not gaudy. Their inscriptions where deep and easy to read. The grass was cut short yet the person who mowed the grass took care to prevent scalping the ground or throwing grass upon the grave markers. I hope the cemetery caretakers read this blog posting. The people responsible for Wood Station Cemetery upkeep are doing a wonderful job. I see too many cemeteries where the grass is thrown upon the tombstones making them unreadable. This is not the case at Wood Station. Well done.

A Pleasant Walk Through A Country Cemetery

Maybe it was just the crisp autumn weather or maybe I was in a particularly good mood. Whatever the reason, I had a very pleasant time wandering the rows of neatly tended gravestones in Wood Station Cemetery.