cemetery Archives - Page 2 of 3 - The Cemetery Detective™

Grand Center Baptist Church Cemetery – Chickamauga, Georgia

In my continual study of North Georgia Cemeteries, I happened upon Grand Center Baptist Church

In my continual study of North Georgia Cemeteries, I happened upon Grand Center Baptist Church with a fenced-in cemetery directly behind the building. This cemetery confused me on three accounts.

When I first arrived at the cemetery, I pulled up Google Maps and Billion Graves to get a confirmation of the correct name and location. I’ve found many church yard cemeteries with names that are not correlated to the name of the church. According to Billion Graves, this cemetery is listed as Chickamauga Cemetery. However, I know Chickamauga Cemetery to be a much larger cemetery. Hmmmm. Why is this cemetery listed as Chickamauga Cemetery in Billion Graves? During further investigation, I found this cemetery to be omitted from Google Maps.

Is it possible this cemetery is not a nationally recognized cemetery and it only exists as a burying yard on church grounds?

The next thing that confused me was a tall chain-link enclosure right in the middle of the cemetery. What an odd location for a chain-link enclosure. Why is it here? Is it for placement of old flowers? Is it protecting a piece of land that is not to be walked on? I don’t know.

The third thing that confused me was a barely readable sign located within a family plot on the western edge of the cemetery. The sign read: “Grave Service Made By Samuel Buchanan For Family In The Deed Which Transferred This Tract To The Public As A Burial Ground.” I imagine this is a legal statement and probably has something to do with the reason this cemetery is not listed on my cemetery maps.

Overall, this was a very pleasant cemetery; well maintained with nice flowers. I wish someone would have been in the church so I could have asked a few questions. If anyone with knowledge of this cemetery has answers, please leave comments below or email me via the “contact page.”

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.

Tile GPS Locator

TILE helps me keep track of my keys when I misplace them in a cemetery.

While I am adept at finding lost cemeteries, I’m not always so skilled at finding my keys in a cemetery.

On more than one occasion, I’ve left my keys behind on a gravestone before wandering off to explore other areas of the cemetery.

TILE is a handy tool that helps me keep track of my keys (and my cell phone).

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Fernhill Memorial Cemetery – Stuart Florida

Fernhill Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Stuart, Florida offers tropical bauble filled trees, glinting sunbeams, and finely manicured lawns.

Sunny Stuart Florida

is blazing hot in the middle of summertime but the cooler months are completely bearable with warm breezes and glistening beams of sunshine. Palm and other tropical trees grow in the fertile soil and St. Augustine Grass makes for a soft cushion underfoot.

It was one particular warm day and one particular sunbeam that cause my attention last July when I strolled the grounds of Fernhill Memorial Gardens. I love when relatives make their family plots places of celebration. This particular plot is adorned with hanging baubles catching sunlight making a visit to this cemetery less sad.

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 at John O’ Groats – Scotland

I found one cemetery in John O’ Groats, Scotland.

It was a typical angst ridden summer. I’d recently graduated college where I’d spent my senior year working in a bank loan office. After graduation, I spent two months hitchhiking and riding trains throughout the British Isles on a BritRail Pass. I stayed with relatives in Liverpool for most of summer vacation but when I outstayed my welcome I would hop on a train and visit the countryside. One week, I traveled as far north as the train tracks took me and spent several nights in a Youth Hostel in John O’ Groats, Scotland. Travelling the rails and meeting other recent graduates who were trying to find themselves filled me with a desire to never stop traveling and exploring the world.

I found one cemetery in John O’ Groats, Scotland. Though I have dozens of pictures of the Youth Hostel and the countryside, I only have one picture of one gravestone.

It was a beautiful summer and I hope to get back to John O’ Groats someday soon to further explore the cemeteries there.

St. Paul’s Cemetery – Bermuda – Finding a Zinc Monument on Bermuda

As a cemetery enthusiast, I am always excited to find Zinc Monuments.

St. Paul’s Cemetery contains a Zinc (White Bronze) grave marker from the Monumental Bronze Company.

As a cemetery enthusiast, I am always excited to find Zinc Monuments. My casual tour of St. Paul’s Cemetery turned into excitement as I found a zinc marker.

Zinc Monuments are fairly common in United States’ Cemeteries. However, I did not expect to find a zinc monument on Bermuda. Zinc monuments were sold by the Monumental Bronze Company between 1875 and 1912. They were sold under the name of White Bronze as a marketing gimmick to make them more appealing than using the word “zinc.”

A rare find of a Zinc grave marker from the Monumental Bronze Company.

I always love finding Zinc grave markers in cemeteries. To the trained eye, they are easy to spot. It’s fun “showing off” to people interested in cemeteries. “See that grave stone? If I rap it with my knuckles, it will ring out like metal.” And when they realize it’s hollow, they love exploring the inscriptions and removable panels (never remove a panel unless you have permission of the owner. Here’s a short video I made of zinc markers in the snow:

Beck Knob Cemetery Delays Construction

Beck Knob Cemetery – local construction crews discover a long forgotten cemetery forcing bulldozer operators to halt their work.

Beck Knob Cemetery
Chattanooga, Tennessee

Local construction crews halt work after discovering grave plots within their work area.

It’s funny how a simple newscast can change the course of your day. After exiting the post office and returning to my car, I flipped on the local talk radio station to hear the local news. 10 seconds later and I would have missed this news blurb completely. However, Kevin West dropped a hint that a local construction crew discovered a long forgotten cemetery forcing bulldozer operators to halt their work.

I have visited Beck Cemetery many times but I wasn’t familiar with Beck Knob Cemetery. Using a GPS Cemetery Data-Set downloaded into my Garmin, I discovered the cemetery was a quick 5 minute drive from my location. I popped over to survey the cemetery and chat with the construction crew. Instead of workers, I found a news team busily filing their report. They seemed amused when they realized I study cemeteries. Within seconds they asked for (and received) my permission to be interviewed for their evening newscast.

Without proper planning, I felt unprepared to give an interview but the professional reporter lead me through the process fairly pain-free.

Beck Knob Cemetery is a family burying ground dating from the late 1800’s to the early 1940’s. The land was donated by a local land owner when he saw a need for burial plots for former slaves and their families. The ground has been maintained over the decades since the 1940’s but recently fell into neglect. Anyone who lives in the Chattanooga area knows Kudzu, which was brought into the area in the 1800’s to curb erosion of our steep hillsides, quickly overtakes plats of land. Kudzu has completely overgrown Beck Knob in recent years obscuring the cemetery from the construction crew’s visual inspections. By all accounts, the construction crews seem to be acting reasonably in their protection of the cemetery.

Though the cemetery is well known by residents of the area, I feel sure recent news coverage of the cemetery will prompt surrounding land owners to re-familiarize themselves with the cemetery’s boundaries.

Price Chapel Cemetery – Bradley County Tennessee

Price Chapel Cemetery (Cemetary) is defined by an overwhemlingly striking tree which greets (almost ominously so) visitors to this small cemetery located between Cleveland Tennessee and Chattanooga Tennessee.

Price Chapel Cemetery - Entrance — Price Chapel Cemetery (Cemetary)

Many cemeteries we visit are defined by a single tombstone. A large obelisk, ornate carving on a single granite monolith, or a magnificient white bronze erection often is the defining feature in a cemetery and makes us say “This tombstone defines the cemetery.”

However, Price Chapel Cemetery (Cemetary) is defined by an overwhemlingly striking tree which greets (almost ominously so) visitors to this small cemetery located between Cleveland Tennessee and Chattanooga Tennessee.

Markers date back to the mid 1800’s to a time in Bradley County when the coming Civil War was not even a rumor. Unfortunately, progress is never ceasing and the area immediately surrounding Price Chapel is becoming overrun with car dealers and movie theaters.

Price Chapel Cemetery (Cemetary) Tree — The Tree Defines the Cemetery – Price Chapel Cemetery

Following a keen interest in cemeteries The Cemetery Detective has studied burying grounds from Hawaii to Maine, Europe, and throughout the United Kingdom. He instructs entrepreneurs how to start their own grave care businesses through his website: www.GraveCareBusiness.com

Vista Memory Gardens – Truth or Consequences New Mexico

Vista Memory Gardens cemetery is on Cemetery Road at the end of Dale Street off Route 85 outside of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

Vista Memory Gardens Cemetery - Truth or Consequences New Mexico — Vista Memory Gardens Cemtery – Truth or Consequences New Mexico

I remember attending a grave stone conference one year where one major point of interest was methods of reducing graffiti and vandalism in cemeteries. One participant in the discussion offered a very clever solution. “Put up a sign warning of Rattlesnakes” he said. There was a collective gasp and a round of laughter as everyone understood the effects such a sign would have on misguided visitors. After all, no misguided visitor wants to be surrounded by rattlesnakes in a cemetery at night.

“WARNING: THIS IS A KNOWN RATTLESNAKE AREA” The sign’s worn lettering speaks of a hot desert sun baking everything in its uninterrupted midday rays. Contrasted to a brilliantly colored yet harsh desert backdrop the sign’s significance is not lent to one erected as a simple ploy to keep ne’re-do-well scoundrels at bay. This sign meant what it said and I took its words to heart. Well, actually, I took them as a challenge of excited expectation as I tried my best to find a Rattlesnake within the confines of the cemetery. I would have loved to see a Rattlesnake sprawled out atop a gravemarker in the mid afternoon sunshine.

Vista Memory Gardens cemetery is on Cemetery Road at the end of Dale Street off Route 85 outside of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. As can be expected, the cemetery is surrounded by dusty dry landscape with slight hills to the north which must harbor dozens of rattlers that slither from their burrows to scare unwitting visitors to Vista Memory Gardens.

Caretakers take obvious pride in their work. The grounds are clean and well manicured. Though I love natural and native landscapes in cemeteries, the caretakers have planted sod and keep the grounds well groomed to give an overall pleasing green tone to the cemetery. There are a few trees that give shade to an otherwise barren landscape.

Rattlesnakes in the Cemetery — Beware of Rattlesnakes in this cemetery.

Rattlesnake Habitat in a Cemetery — Rattlesnakes in the Cemetery

Vista Memory Gardens Green Grass Truth or Consequences New Mexico — Plesant greenery at Vista Memory Gardens cemetery.