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.
