Tennessee Archives - Page 3 of 5 - The Cemetery Detective™

Kings Point Cemetery – Chattanooga, Tennessee

Kings Point Cemetery – Abandoned, Neglected, but not Forgotten

The sign on a rusty locked barricade warns of penalties for willful destruction or removal of U.S. Government property but “No Tresspassing” signs are not to be found. This service road does not appear on roadway maps. Conversely, the documented road (Pine Street) located 1/4 mile away from this location still exists on maps but no longer exists in reality.

Why has Pine Street, the main road leading into Kings Point Cemetery, vanished from reality? And, why has Kings Point Cemetery fallen into such a state of abandonment?

Kings Point Cemetery in Hamilton County, Tennessee dates back to 1830

A once prestigious cemetery containing notable figures in Chattanooga’s history, Kings Point Cemetery dates back to the mid 1800’s with some of the earliest burials from the Silvey family. As such; some local historians refer to the burial ground as Silvey Cemetery. It is on land now owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

TVA first became prominent in this immediate area in the 1930s when Chickamauga Dam was built on the Tennessee River 6 miles upriver of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Kings Point’s setting is high atop a hill overlooking Chickamauga Dam. The cemetery’s perch saved it from the fate of many other cemeteries in the area flooded by rising waters of the Tennessee River. Once the hydroelectric dam was completed in 1940, rising lake levels caused the relocation of 24 cemeteries. To TVA’s credit, the Governmental Agency prides itself on being sensitive to cultural issues such as the impact from their operations on area cemeteries.

In fact, TVA has responsibly moved more than 550 cemeteries, in total, within its jurisdictional boundaries.

Their efforts of building the dam required TVA to purchase much of the surrounding land. Kings Point was acquired in the 1930s and officially closed in 1938. According to a gravemarker survey performed in 1941, the last known burial was in 1933.
[EDIT 04/03/2018: In further research of Kingspoint Cemetery, I have found evidence of burials later than those in the survey referenced above. According to Find-A-Grave, Hugh Jackson Studdard was buried in Kingspoint Cemetery in 1946. Furthermore, Find-A-Grave references a burial as late as 1961.]

When Pine Street was placed into disuse, clear access into Kings Point Cemetery was no longer available.

Kingspoint Cemetery has since fallen into complete disrepair. With scores of sunken gravesites, toppled tombstones, and a collapsed mausoleum, extreme caution must be heeded by visitors. A thick carpet of Periwinkle obfuscates landscape contours. Voids and obstructions are not readily apparent.

Of the few epitaphs which can be read, interesting stories emerge. A stark example is that of Sam Cleage Lumpkin who was “Murdered Over a Dog Fight.”

Notable Burials

The most notable burials in Kings Point are those of the Woodward Family.

In today’s world of instant sharing of selfie pics via Facebook and Instagram, we can only imagine piling the entire family into a horse-drawn wagon for a day-long outing to have a professional photographer shoot a group picture. However, in February 1897, 10 members of the Woodward family excitedly took a family excursion. They loaded 10 family members into a wagon pulled by the family’s two horses on their way to Chattanooga for a family photograph.

At the railroad tracks near Orchard Knob Avenue, the whistles and bells of an oncoming passenger train went unheeded by the wagon driver. 24 year old George T. Woodward encouraged his horses across the tracks but not before Southern Railway Engine No. 846 barrelled into them. Bodies of the family were, reportedly, thrown as high as telegraph wires. The sole surviving family member, 3 year old Vergie Woodward, was discovered unhurt on the engine that pulled the train. The next day’s newspaper headlines read: “NINE MEMBERS OF ONE FAMILY HURLED INTO ETERNITY.”

All 9 family members killed by the tragedy are buried in Kings Point.

Can you imagine the sadness which surrounded these gravesites on this hallowed ground 120 years ago?

With the proven cultural sensitivity TVA has provided cemeteries in the past, it seems responsible to reopen Pine Street allowing free access and rehabilitation efforts to take place at Kings Point Cemetery.

As with many abandoned cemeteries I visit, Kings Point is not included in Google Maps. I’ve suggested it to their database administrators in hopes it will be added soon. That said, the location map is included below. The cemetery is located on the map at the end of Pine Street which juts off Hwy 58.

Shaw Cemetery – Red Bank, Tennessee

Shaw Cemetery AKA Red Bank Cemetery

It’s a familiar scenario. I’m driving on a road I’ve driven a hundred times before. All of a sudden, I look up and notice gravestones on a hillside. Thus is the tale of how I found this cemetery in Red Bank, Tennessee.

Cemetery Obscured By Trees

Just past Hardee’s on Morrison Springs Road heading into Red Bank, Tennessee, a small grove of trees covers a hillside behind a rental house. The property owner recently cleared scrub brush from the hillside to increase visibility around a difficult intersection. I’ve driven this road dozens of times but I’ve never known there to be a cemetery anywhere near here.

Loaded into my Garmin Nuvi GPS is a database of over 150,000 cemeteries. I use this as a backup to Google Maps and Billion Graves. This GPS file helps me locate cemeteries. Although I’ve used this system to find hundreds of cemeteries all across the United States, I’ve never known about a cemetery in this area. However, with the scrub brush cut away, I caught a glimpse of a tombstone atop the hillside. I was so unaccustomed to seeing tombstones on this stretch of land that the vision through my eyes didn’t register in my brain until I almost reached the intersection at Dayton Boulevard. “HEY!!! There’s a cemetery up there.” Spinning around, I took a right on Oakland Terrace and then a 180° left onto a small side street. There, between and behind two residences is Red Bank Cemetery (the sign says “Shaw Cemetary[sic]”).

Red Bank Cemetery (Or Is It Shaw?)

The grave sites in Red Bank Cemetery date back as early as the late 1800s though the majority are from the mid 1900s. A survey of recorded grave markers can be found on the Hamilton County Genealogical Site Red Bank is a small enclave city completely surrounded by Chattanooga, Tennessee. Being so close to Chattanooga and the Civil War battles fought in the surrounding areas, I expected to see significant markers with names of civil war veterans. However, mentions of soldiers from the Civil War were difficult to find.

The cemetery is well maintained and is apparently still in somewhat modern use with the most recent marker reading a DOD 1997.

Whether it’s known as Shaw Cemetery or Red Bank Cemetery, I’m glad the property owner cleared away the trees giving greater visibility to this grave yard.

As mentioned above, Red Bank Cemetery is not listed in the Google Maps database. As of the writing of this blog post (January 2017) I’ve submitted the location to Google and I hope it will be added soon.

Celestial Alignment Behind a 100 Year Old Gravestone

Celestial alignment behind a 100 year old gravestone.

I blithely strolled through this cemetery when I first discovered this celestial alignment.
With sun setting low on horizon this chilly autumn evening,
I was in the right place at the right time just as it kissed the horizon.
A lone sunbeam glinted perfectly through the little boy’s outstretched hand.

Osage Orange (Hedge Apples) as a Cemetery Fence Row

Osage Orange trees used as a fence row in Forest Hills Cemetery Chattanooga, Tennessee

In addition to great sunrises and cooler weather this time of year, I always enjoy finding Osage Orange fruit during early morning autumn walks in my local cemeteries.

Osage Orange Fruit Signifies The Coming Of Autumn

Osage Orange (Maclura Pomifera) were used for generations by Native Americans – particularly the people of the Osage Nation. Workers crafted bows and other weaponry from its sturdy yet flexible wood.

Osage Orange trees tend to grow in dense proximity to one another. Because of this, they are often used as a natural wind break. In the 1930’s 100’s of millions of Osage Orange trees were planted in the plain states to help guard against wind driven soil erosion during the dust bowl years. This resulted in large-scale distribution of the tree.

Cemeteries Use Osage Orange Trees

Because of its widespread use, public entities, such as cemeteries, used the tree as a means of inexpensive, natural perimeter fencing.

The fruit exudes a sticky white latexy substance that was used in olden times as a natural insect repellant. The fruit’s outside has a wrinkly, craggy appearance.

I am always interested in looking for Fibonacci sequences when I’m observing trees and their fruits out in nature but no discernible Fibonacci sequence is readily apparent on the Osage Orange fruit.

Although not as widely used, now, as it was in the early to mid 1900’s, Osage Orange trees are still very commonly found.

As you can see here, I found quite a few specimens strewn freely on the ground of Forest Hills Cemetery in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

References:
http://lancaster.unl.edu/enviro/pest/nebline/hedgeapple.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maclura_pomifera

“Magic Forest” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Forest Hills Cemetery Chattanooga, Tennessee.

State Line Cemetery and the Nickajack Bat Cave

State Line Cemetery was established in the early 1800’s.

A visit to State Line Cemetery

On a recent trip to the Nickajack Bat Cave on the shoreline of the Tennessee River, I discovered a cemetery very near the junction of the Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia borders.

State Line Cemetery was established in the early 1800’s. This coincides with the era many Euro-Americans were moving into this part of Tennessee. The land was still heavily populated and influenced by Native American culture. However, the political, economic, and cultural landscapes were changing. Additionally, the environmental landscape was changing with farmers beginning to graze livestock in the area.

Many of the early gravestones are simple fieldstones laid to mark each gravesite. These early gravestones have no discernable markings thus giving no indication of the name nor date-of-death of the interred. Other grave markers are more modern dating to recent years.

Stateline Cemetery encompasses ground very near the junction point of the Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia borders. If you wish to visit this junction, park your car at the cemetery and find a trail heading due west. The junction point lies about 100 yards from the westernmost edge of State Line Cemetery.

For added excitement to your cemetery hunting, visit the Nickajack Bat Cave at sunset. The cave can be accessed via the Maple View Public Use Area. Shortly after sunset, thousands of bats exit the cave. They flood the tree tops in search of their nightly meals consisting of various insects.

There is a short hiking trail leading to an observation platform. If you have a kayak, you viewing will be greatly enhanced as you can kayak right up to the mouth of the cave and watch the bats exit directly overhead.

1) Nickajack Bat Cave

2) TN AL GA Border Junction

Lebanon In The Fork First Presbyterian Cemetery

Lebanon In The Fork Presbyterian Cemetery overlooks the muddy headwaters of the Tennessee River.

Lebanon Church Cemetery Near the Fork of the Holston and French Broad

Near the confluence of the Holston River and French Broad River a church burned down in 1981. Its bell and columns were saved but, other than those items, the most enduring visual reminder of the Lebanon Presbyterian church are the tombstones of the old church cemetery.

There is a quarry nearby. Tread carefully along the well-worn footpath toward the rear of the cemetery.

Cemetery Hunting Trip Goes Wrong

Searching for Cemeteries. The adventure is in the journey….even when I don’t find the cemetery.

My cemetery hunting trips don’t always go as planned.

Last week, as I was hunting for a cemetery atop a mountain, in a storm, miles away from civilization, and without cell service, my van broke down. Luckily, I was able to turn around on the narrow mountain road. I coasted down the mountain and limped back home at 25 MPH. I found a YouTubing mechanic who has a video detailing the exact symptoms of my van’s problem.

This video does not feature a specific cemetery. Sometimes, the adventure is in the travel even if we don’t reach our intended destination.

Cemetery Research Tool

Cemetery research tool to research cemeteries.

I love cemeteries, I love technology, and I love technology that helps me research cemeteries.

Here is a video I made of a brand new cemetery research tool.

Please subscribe to my YouTube channel and this blog to keep up with my latest cemetery exploration adventures.

Lusk Cemetery – Marion County, Tennessee

Lusk Cemetery in the heart of Marion County, Tennessee. Prentice Cooper State Park

Lusk Cemetery in the heart of Marion County Tennessee

Along dusty Game Reserve Road in the heart of Marion County, Tennessee is a small cemetery deep within the Prentice Cooper State Forest. There was no cemetery listed on my map when I happened upon Lusk Cemetery. With windshield wipers clearing a narrow field of vision, my van was turning earth colored from all the dust being thrown up on this narrow hunting road. Occasionally gunshots rang out and as I exited my vehicle, 4 hunters on two 4-wheelers appeared from the woods. They stopped briefly to watch me extend the legs on my tripod, then, being more interested in hunting deer than watching some weirdo taking pictures in a cemetery, they revved up their all-terrain vehicles and vanished into the densely wooded state park.

I love Marion County and Prentice Cooper State Park. When I’m sick of the city, Prentice Cooper is one of my favorite get-aways. I can hike for miles in the woods and never see a soul. But these guys on their 4-wheelers; I admire them. I admire their local knowledge of the land upon which they live. I admire the fact that if civilization ever shuts down, these guys will be the survivors. I looked upon them with caution as they came roaring up on their 4-wheelers. Would they consider me a threat? Would they not take kindly that I was taking photographs of their relative’s grave sites? Nah, I’m just like them…exploring the land, paying respect to those who have passed along before me, and minding my own business not hurting anyone.

Lusk Cemetery represents God’s Country in Marion County, Tennessee.