Helping Families Overcome Complex Cemetery Issues

The Tennessee Historical Commission is always please to help concerned citizens with their cemetery-related questions. Upon advice provided by our office, one such citizen, Ms. Carrie Louise Pinson, was able to generate a great deal of buzz around the Zion CME Church Cemetery in Shelby County, where several of her family members are buried. The issue at hand was that obviously no one had maintained the cemetery in years, and the church property was surrounded by recent encroaching development. The advice provided to Ms. Pinson included contacting the County Historian and Cemetery Committee member Jimmy Rout, CME church main office, Wright Property Management (the developer), Shelby County, Scouting of America’s Chickasaw Council, the Tennessee Department of Archeology, the University of South Florida, the Memphis Commercial Appeal and local news stations all of whom were essential players in addressing the dilapidated condition of the cemetery. 

The results thus far have been a general cleaning of the cemetery for the purpose of a potential Ground Penetrating Radar survey, the location of more than 70 graves on both the church plat and the adjacent “common area” owned by Wright Property Management, and several highly publicized related news articles and television news stories. Ms. Pinson’s efforts are a prime example of what can be achieved when a concerned citizen investigates all existing avenues to bring attention to a neglected cemetery.

Cemeteries Recently added to the Historic Cemetery Register

There has been a noticeable uptick in applications for THC’s Historic Cemetery Register this period. Twenty-five cemeteries have been added to the register far surpassing any previous quarter, and the counties represented vary widely. For more information about the requirements please contact Graham Perry at graham.perry@tn.gov.

Branch Hill Cemetery, Knox County. Listed May 15, 2025.

Thompson Cemetery, Williamson County. Listed May 22, 2025.

Roadman Cemetery, Cocke County. Listed May 23, 2025.

Bethel Springs African American Cemetery, McNairy. Listed May 30, 2025.

Rucker Cemetery, Grainger County. Listed June 2, 2025.

Easterly Family Cemetery, Greene County. Listed June 11, 2025.

Old Baxter Cemetery, Cocke County. Listed June 11, 2025.

Greenlee Cemetery, Grainger County. Listed June 13, 2025.

Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Hawkins County. June 23, 2025.

Susong Family Cemetery, Cocke County. Listed June 23, 2025.

Fairview-Flatwoods Baptist Church Cemetery, Jefferson County. Listed June 25, 2025.

Mount Tabor Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Rutherford. Listed June 25, 2025.

Bethesda Church Cemetery, Hamblen County. Listed July 14, 2025.

Candies Creek Cemetery, Bradley County. Listed July 17, 2025.

Honeycutt Cemetery, Morgan County. Listed July 21, 2025.

Bent Creek Cemetery, Hamblen County. Listed August 7, 2025.

Nathaniel Williams Cemetery, Crockett County. Listed August 7, 2025.

Soldier’s Rest Cemetery, Davidson County. Listed August 7, 2025.

Allen's Grove Cemetery, Williamson County. Listed August 12, 2025.

Waters-Large Cemetery, Cocke County. Listed August 12, 2025.

Webb Family Cemetery, Cocke County. Listed August 12, 2025.

Lytle Family Cemetery, Rutherford County. Listed August 12, 2025.

Rock of Ages Cemetery, Hamblen County. Listed August 13, 2025.

Old Goodfield Cemetery, Meigs County. Listed August 13, 2025.

McLemore Family Cemetery, Williamson County. Listed August 14, 2025.