Tennessee Archives - The Cemetery Detective™

Grave House and Barrel-Vaulted Gravesite in Madisonville, Tennessee

Exploring Unique Burial Traditions in Southeastern Tennessee

On a recent cemetery exploration in Madisonville, Tennessee, I discovered two fascinating grave features: a Grave House and a Barrel-Vaulted gravesite. As part of my journey as The Cemetery Detective, I documented these rare burial structures, which offer insights into local traditions, historical preservation, and unique forms of grave architecture in Southeastern Tennessee.

The Grave House: A Structure of Protection and Respect

The Grave House, found in select cemeteries across the southern United States, was likely built to protect the deceased from the elements and animals. Built directly over two gravesites, this small structure resembles a miniature house, complete with a sloped roof and open sides surrounded by braided-wire fencing. Historians believe grave houses may have served as protective shelters, preserving the grave from weather-related erosion and wildlife interference. The symbolic significance of this structure may also act as protection to the gravesites, a continuation of the protection the house gave while they were alive on earth.

Although mostly found in Upland South cemeteries within Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi, I have found structures resembling Grave House in other parts of the country and the world. However, their designs vary with the regions within which they are found.

In Madisonville, this Grave House was well-preserved, displaying painted woodwork as evidence of care by descendants or the local community. As I captured this on video, I couldn’t help but reflect on how this regional tradition may provide grieving families a unique way to memorialize their loved ones. The structure itself and the maintenance of the structure both physical protection of the gravesites and a lasting tribute to the memory of the deceased.

The Barrel-Vaulted Grave Covering: A Unique Architectural Style

Immediately adjacent to the Grave House, I discovered a rare Barrel-Vaulted gravesite. Unlike traditional flat or angled grave covers, this barrel vault is a rounded arch structure, crafted from red bricks covering the entire length of the grave. This distinctive mounded design may be inspired by European grave architecture. I have seen similar structures in my travels in Spain and Italy

Barrel-vaulted graves reflect an era when grave-building involved extensive masonry work, often at a significant cost of money and time to the family. In addition to its structural integrity, this vault shape may also signify a spiritual “vaulting” over the deceased, a notion possibly rooted in religious or cultural practices. It’s rare to find such an intact example of this barrel-vaulted grave covering design.

Preserving Historical Grave Sites

As I document unique gravesites and burial practices, it’s essential to recognize the importance of preserving these structures as well as the lives and the memories of the people they protect. Grave Houses and Barrel Vaults represent a tangible connection to past burial traditions and offer valuable insights into the customs, religious beliefs, and aesthetic preferences of earlier communities. By sharing these discoveries on The Cemetery Detective, I aim to raise awareness of these historical markers and the stories they hold.

Uncovering the History of Tent Graves: WKRN – Hidden Tennessee

Recently, I had the incredible opportunity to be interviewed by WKRN – Hidden Tennessee about my ongoing cemetery research, particularly my work with tent graves at Mt. Gillead Cemetery near Sparta, Tennessee. Tent graves, a unique burial tradition found in a few locations across the American South, have long fascinated historians, archaeologists, and cemetery enthusiasts alike.

What Are Tent Graves?

Tent graves, sometimes called ‘comb graves,’ are characterized by stone slabs laid in an A-frame over the burial site, resembling the shape of a tent. This practice was most common in the 19th century, and while there are varying theories about their purpose—ranging from protecting the grave to marking the status of the deceased—the exact origins remain somewhat mysterious. Mt. Gillead Cemetery, home to a significant number of these graves, serves as a key site for uncovering their historical significance.

Why Mt. Gillead Cemetery?

Mt. Gillead Cemetery, nestled in the hills near Sparta, Tennessee, offers a unique window into this burial practice. My research focuses on documenting the remaining tent graves and piecing together the stories of the individuals interred beneath them. Each stone, weathered by time and nature, holds a fragment of a story waiting to be told.

During my interview with WKRN, I shared the importance of preserving these sites and understanding their cultural significance. I explained how the tent grave tradition is a symbol of the connection between past generations and their final resting places—a practice that ties us to the people and times that shaped the region.

The Future of Cemetery Research

This interview was a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness about cemetery preservation, a cause close to my heart. By continuing to study unique burial practices like tent graves, we can gain insight into how people of the past approached death, memorialization, and community.

If you’re interested in learning more about my research, feel free to explore other posts on my blog or reach out directly. Together, we can work toward preserving the history that lies in our cemeteries, waiting to be rediscovered.

What Is This Gravestone? – A Zinc Grave Marker!

Zinc Grave Markers are very common. I found this Zinc (White Bronze) grave marker in Old Grey Cemetery, Knoxville Tennessee.

Have you ever visited a cemetery and noticed 1 gravestone that appears different than all the others?

If you are in a cemetery, you will see all different types of stone used in the creation of gravestones and monuments and headstones. Some grave markers will be made from marble. Marble is an interesting rock type that has been used for centuries in cemeteries as memorials and gravestones. Marble is a metamorphic rock which lends itself to beautiful carvings as gravestones.

Limestone Gravestones

Limestone is also used quite regularly in cemeteries. There are different varieties of limestone. Much of this particular type of rock is used in cemeteries due to its economic cost and ease of transport. Some limestones are different than others.

Sandstone Gravestones

Some cemeteries have sandstone grave markers. Sandstone is beautiful. Color and texture of sandstone depends on the specific geographic location and depth of the original stone.

Granite Gravestones

Granite gravestones are certainly in wide use in cemeteries today. Granite grave markers are easy to come by. Our advances in quarrying methods, inscription tools, and transportation make granite an affordable grave marker.

As easily recognizable as these gravestone materials are, keep your eyes out for headstones that look different from all these other stones. I recently visited Old Grey Cemetery in Knoxville, Tennessee. Within this cemetery I found a most unusual looking marker.

Zinc (White Bronze) Grave Marker

It is an obelisk with panels. I heard a hollow ring when I rapped it with my knuckles. This is a Zinc Grave Marker. Zinc grave markers are also known as White Bronze. Many of these grave markers were produced by the Monumental Bronze Company.

This particular “zinky” was manufactured by the Detroit Bronze Company in Detroit Michigan. Detroit Bronze Company was a manufacturer (subsidiary) of the Monumental Bronze Company out of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Detroit Bronze Co. operated from 1881 – 1886.

Zinc Grave Markers are very common. I find them in many cemeteries I visit. I even found a zinc grave marker in a cemetery in Bermuda.

Have you ever found a zinc grave marker? Please tell me about it in the comment section below.

Gravestone Depicts Snowy Cemetery Scene

Gravestones Tell a Story

Gravestones signify a person’s passing, a life lived.
Gravestones present opportunities for loved-ones to reminisce.
Gravestones allow those who never knew the deceased to imagine what their lives were like in the time they lived.
Gravestones can be as simple as uninscripted fieldstones; without names or dates, they simply mark places of burial.
Or, gravestones can give detailed information about the people’s lives, causes of death, and family connections.

I found a gravestone recently during my study of cemeteries in Polk County, Tennessee. With a laser-etched image and a few simple words, this gravestone might very well do the best job explaining a couple’s life and lifestyle of any gravestone I have ever seen.

The context of the gravestone lies in the surroundings of the cemetery. As I view the stone, behind me the hills of Chilhowie Mountain are ablaze in autumn’s colors. In front of me, the valley stretches into fertile flatlands. And all around me, Polk County slowly trudges through time as it has for two centuries.

The gravestone perfectly captures this couple’s life and the time in which they lived. He, in his overalls, is strapped behind a plow horse. She, in her apron, expertly wields a hoe. Together, they tend their garden. Beside the garden patch is a row of bee hives. Obviously, the couple made their own honey.

A small farmhouse sits just beyond a clothesline where the couple’s laundry was dried on warm summer days. I imagine the image is captured during a season change because the hilltops are lightly dusted with white frost. I’ve seen this frost many times but most recently when I began an early morning March paddle of the Hiwassee River not far from here.

This Gravestone Reflects an Image

The smoothness of the gravestone perfectly reflects Chilhowie Mountain behind me. I want to visit this cemetery one winter morning when there is frost atop the hills so I can see them reflected just as they are depicted on the gravestone. The crux of the scene is captured in words written on the tailgate of an old pickup truck parked in a wooden barn where the plow horse spends its nights.

The words allude to the changes that Polk County is experiencing and not only of the death of the couple buried here but the passing of a lifestyle and the fading of their home. The words are small. I have to get close to see what they actually say but when I read them, I almost tear up. “About all that’s left of the old homeplace is a lot of memories.”

The Importance of Maintaining Cemeteries

Whether a grave marker is a simple field stone or a detailed description of a person’s life, gravestones help us hold onto the memories, and that is important.

Snowy Hilltops — Snowy Hills Polk County Cemetery

Exploring Reelfoot Lake

A mid-summer road trip to explore cemeteries of Western Tennessee turns into an adventure on Reelfoot Lake.

Reelfoot Lake – Western Tennessee.

For a couple days during the July 4th week, I took my kayak to Lake County, Tennessee in the extreme North West reaches of the state. I was in the area to explore cemeteries near the shoreline of Reelfoot Lake. Reelfoot Lake was formed during a succession of earthquakes from late 1811 to the big quake that occurred February 7, 1812.

The Natural Beauty of Reelfoot Lake

Many areas of Reelfoot Lake are swamp-like. Bald Cypress pierce the surface growing skyward 100 feet. I kayaked shallow water beneath the cypress’ darkening canopy. Searching for Water Moccasins and Broad-banded Water Snakes, I felt uneasy fantasizing of my reaction should a snake drop from a tree and hitch a ride in my kayak. I love wildlife in areas like this; Osprey, Eagle, Egret, Turtle, and Dragonfly by the hundreds. My favorite wildlife encounters on this day were the two large beaver dam I found in a far removed remote section of the swamp. As I paddled right up to the 2nd beaver dam, I heard beaver grunting and working and gnawing tree branches inside their den.

After 3 hours paddling alone and without seeing another human soul in the swamp, I decided to turn back in advance of a threatening afternoon thunderstorm. I like to think I have a pretty good sense of direction but the myriad bayous and narrow reedy marshy paths I had explored mishmashed in my memory.

Lost In A Swamp

“Oh no! I’m lost!” As I paddled furiously searching for the boggy opening in the treeline where I launched my kayak early that morning, I heard cracks of thunder immediately behind me. “Where is that opening? Where is my van? I think I recognize that osprey nest. That tree looks familiar. Is that turtle the same turtle I saw this morning? WHERE IS THAT OPENING?“

I paddled for a good 45 minutes toward the direction where I thought I had left my van hours before. Each inlet looked the same as the last inlet. Midsummer heat and sunshine caused algae blooms to fully cover the swamp’s surface. Distinguishing features softened into a continual undulation of never-ending shoreline.

“I’m never going to make it out of this swamp. They’ll have to send a search party but they’ll never find me. I’ll be consumed by the swamp. Devoured by turtles and osprey and water moccasins. I wonder who will play the lead character in the movie they’ll make about this. WHERE IS THAT OPENING?“

With enormous black clouds overhead and raindrops beginning to fall, I had to admit I was lost. My personal stark realization of my inability to find my way out of this endless swamp consumed me with each stroke of my paddle. Heavy in my hands, I laid my paddle across my lap to rest my weary arms. My kayak ground to a halt from friction of the thick…thick surrounding vegetation.

Finding My Way Out

I dipped my hand through the vegetation to make contact with the water below. Expecting refreshing cool, I was met, instead, with emanating heat from the lake’s surface. I didn’t even think what might lie beneath. A giant Alligator Snapping Turtle? A Muskrat with gnarled, sharpened teeth? The Water Moccasin I’d been seeking for hours? Pulling my hand back into my kayak, I reached for my water bottle. I had plenty of fluids left but any ice I had brought with me had long since melted in this blistering July heat.

With reluctance and a final admittance that I could not find my own way out of the swamp, I reached into my dry-sack for my trusty GPS. Luckily, I had set a waypoint of my launch point when I first set out early in the morning. According to the graphic on the electronic map, I was less than 1/2 mile away. A quick paddle through thick mats of aquatic lilies had me back at my launch point in a matter of minutes. “Ah, there’s my van….cool.”

I never did find any Water Moccasins but I sure was happy to be back on dry land.

Off I set out to explore the nearby cemeteries.

All Gravestones Matter

All gravestones are important.

I believe all gravestones are important.

No matter how small. How old. In what condition they’re in.
No matter if they are in well maintained cemeteries.
Or ones that have been neglected.
No matter if the grave is of someone with whom we identify.
Or someone of a differing cultural belief.

All gravestones represent a life once lived.
And, as such, all gravestones matter.

Cemeteries and Thunderstorms

Cumulonimbus and Cemetery — Thunderstorm In A Cemetery

I Love Thunderstorms

As we roll into August, the afternoon thunderstorm cycle is intense.

Mid-day blazing hot sunshine warms the surface of the earth bringing moisture out of lakes and ponds and the ground itself. Since hot air is less dense than cold air, physics dictates warm moist columns of air rise high into the atmosphere. The sweltering summer’s day drags on. A bead of sweat forms on my forehead rolling down my face narrowly missing dripping into my eye. Surface air currents seem non-existent but high in the troposphere an enormous puffy white cloud billows to 40,000 feet.

There is a tremendous transfer of energy from sunshine to ground layer to the column of moisture rising above me. As I stare at the cloud, I can actually see it billowing, forging skyward. But, the energy that originally came from the sun cannot be contained within the cloud. All that moisture, eventually, condenses. Each drop condensates around a nearly-microscopic dust particle…trillions of them.

Two Crosses with Clouds — Thunderstorm In A Cemetery

The rising column of moist air causes friction as it rises through a surrounding, stable, air mass. These two air masses, rubbing against each other, affect the molecular structure of the air contained within each air mass. Molecular electrons are shed and a disparity of electrical charge presents itself within the cloud layer. When a big enough disparity of electrical charge occurs, lightning unleashes tremendous energy. Each lightning strike, 5 time hotter than the surface of the sun, regulates the electrical disparity.

And the rains begin. When enough droplets condense within the cloud, updrafts are no longer capable of keeping the larger moisture droplets aloft. Rain fall intensifies. With so much energy now released, torrential downpours bring all that moisture falling, violently, back to earth.

At the mature stage of a thunderstorm, cumulonimbus clouds present anvil formations as their tops are blown off by upper-level winds. As the storm cell moves away, the sun, which caused the formation of the storm cloud to begin with, lights the 40,000 foot tall column of dissipating cloud. The air is, once again, still.

I love watching late summer sunsets after intense thunderstorms. Yesterday was such a day. I took these photos to share with you.

Gravestones and Thunder Clouds — Thunderstorm In A Cemetery

Cemeteries and Water Towers

A water tower overlooking a cemetery adds a whole new dimension.

I’m pretty sure I have a new fascination…water towers over cemeteries. I’ve seen quite a few, recently. I found this one while researching cemeteries around the “world’s largest tree house” also known as “The Minister’s Treehouse.” (link below).

I cannot see a water tower without thinking back to a version of the War Of The Worlds movie I saw on TV when I was a kid (maybe it was a rebroadcast of the 1953 film?) where a farmer shoots a water tower mistaking it for a martian.

Now, seeing water towers over cemeteries adds a whole new dimension.

The Cemeteries of Danbury, Connecticut

Cemetery research trip to Danbury, Connecticut

The Association for Gravestone Studies

holds their annual conference each year in June. In 2017, our group gathered in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. This year, 2018, we took the studies northward to Danbury, Connecticut.

Giving myself a few extra days for travel, I visited and studied cemeteries from Polk County, Tennessee through New York City and onward to Danbury.

The range of topics at these conferences are wide and varied. This year’s offerings included many workshops including: gravestone preservation, cemetery photography, legal issues affecting graveyards, forensic studies of burials, and ground penetrating radar.

For my part of the conference, I revisited a daylong workshop I lead in 2016 on the art of cemetery mapping using various modern day technological tools including aerial 3D mapping using modern day drones. This year, my presentation was brief but quite a few people showed enough interest that I will consider leading a full-day workshop at a future conference.

Hawaii Cemeteries — Keith Presenting on the Lava Affected Cemeteries of Hawaii

During the night-time hours, academics within the group present formal lectures. Afterward, during our late-night participation, informal lectures and slide shows are given.

Cemetery Presentations

Since the volcano eruption on Hawaii is in the news this year, I presented my work during a recent trip to Hawaii where I studied lava affected cemeteries on the Big Island. I loved my trip to study Hawaiian Cemeteries and I hope to make a return trip to Hawaii one day soon.

I am involved with studying cemeteries (in some capacity) on a daily basis. The AGS Conference is the one time of the year I am surrounded by other cemetery people for a week at a time. The breadth and depth of knowledge of these cemetery researchers is truly inspiring. I come away from each conference with newfound knowledge that I try to apply to my passion.

Increasingly, Civic Organizations, Churches, and Schools are asking me to give presentations of my cemetery research. I always try to exhibit the knowledge and enthusiasm I garner from my AGS conference trips.

Driving back from Danbury, I visited quite a few cemeteries including Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery.

20 Cemeteries and a Cemetery Research Video

In all, I studied more than 20 cemeteries on this trip. At the bottom of this list is a short film I made of my travels.

Beckler Cemetery – Reliance, Tennessee
Double Springs Cemetery – Rock Springs, Tennessee
Beth El Cemetery – Harrisonburg City, Virginia
New York Marble Cemetery – New York, New York
Woodlawn Cemetery – Bronx, New York
Mill Plain Cemetery – Danbury, Connecticut
Resurrection Cemetery – Danbury, Connecticut
Kenosia Cemetery – Danbury, Connecticut
Wooster Cemetery – Danbury, Connecticut
New Haven Crypt – New Haven, Connecticut
Grove Street Cemetery – New Haven, Connecticut
Old Milford Cemetery – Milford, Connecticut
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery – Sleepy Hollow, New York
Millington Baptist Church Cemetery – Millington, New Jersey
St. Philip and St. James Cemetery – Greenwich Township, New Jersey
New Hope Congregational Christian Church Cemetery – New Hope, Virginia
Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery – Lexington, Virginia
Goodman Cemetery – Bristol, Virginia
Necessary Cemetery – Scott County, Virginia
Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery – Bristol, Virginia
Niota Cemetery – Niota, Tennessee
Cedar Grove Cemetery – Athens, Tennessee

Lyre on a Gravestone

I first notice her shoes.

The heel on her left shoe. Substantial. Contacting the ground with stability.
And her right shoe. The delicate way its laces peek out from beneath her dress…a dress with sleeves flowing from elbow to thigh.

And her lyre.

An antiquated instrument often depicted with 7 strings but her’s has only 5. Or, at least, it has fittings for 5 strings if it ever had strings at all. Which brings into focus the name on the gravestone behind her. “Strang” the past-tense of string.

I smile, bemused, wondering if anyone else would notice such a thing.