Uncovering the Cades Cove Cemeteries and Their History
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If you love learning more about the history of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, then you should consider paying a visit to some of the many cemeteries in Cades Cove on your next visit. Although National Park Service records indicate there are 14 cemeteries in Cades Cove, only 11 of them have been found. To help you learn more, we’ve listed all 11 of them for you below! Take a look at all the Cades Cove cemeteries:
1. Boring Family Cemetery
The Boring Family Cemetery in Cades Cove has 4 graves in it. It is located in the southwest portion of Cades Cove, near Parsons Branch Road. Three of the graves have cedar trees planted near the headstones. The four graves in this cemetery belong to Millie A. Rawlins, Millie Boring, Martha A. Thompson Boring and Mary E. Thompson Boring. All died in 1898 from typhoid.
2. Cable Family Cemetery
The Cable Family Cemetery is located in the southeastern portion of Cades Cove and has 46 graves, 43 of which are inscribed. The earliest grave in the cemetery is for an infant child of Calvin Post Jr. who died in 1871. The most recent burial is from 1974 for Phillip J. Schlosshan. Other notable graves in the cemetery belong to John Primer Cable and his wife, Elizabeth Whitehead Cable, and Rebecca Cable. John P. Cable is best known for building the grist mill in Cades Cove, and Rebecca Cable is a respected member of the community who lived in the first frame house in Cades Cove.
3. Cades Cove Methodist Church Cemetery
The Cades Cove Methodist Church Cemetery is in the north-central part of Cades Cove. It’s one of three Cades Cove cemeteries that is associated with a church that still stands today. There are a total of 114 graves, 106 of which are inscribed. Randolph Shields is one of the most well-known names found in the Methodist Church Cemetery. He moved from the cove when he was 13 and earned a doctorate degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He is known as a “caretaker of Cades Cove history” and is the author of “The Cades Cove Story” and “The Families of Cades Cove.”
4. Cades Cove Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery
The Cades Cove Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery is home to 55 graves, 53 of which are inscribed. The earliest legible grave in this cemetery is from 1919, and the most recent grave was placed in 1994. That grave belongs to Peggy Sue Sparks Homburg. To learn even more history about the Missionary Baptist Church, check out our blog about the Civilian Conservation Corps.
5. Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
The Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery is in the north-central part of Cades Cove. It’s the largest of the Cades Cove cemeteries, with 323 visible graves, 293 of which are inscribed. This oldest documented grave in the cemetery dates all the way back to 1837, which the most recent grave is from 1995. Some prominent Cades Cove residents who are buried in this cemetery are John and Lucretia Oliver, who were the first white settlers of Cades Cove. William Howell Oliver, who was the church’s pastor for almost 60 years, and Russell Gregory, who the popular Gregory Bald in the Smokies is named after are also buried here!
6. Davis Cemetery
The Davis Cemetery is home to 5 graves. Two of the graves have identical sandstone markers, and you can make out the name “Davis” on one of them. A third grave belongs to George M. Oliver, who was the infant son of John and Lucretia Oliver, the first white settlers of Cades Cove. The remaining 2 graves in the Davis Cemetery are not inscribed.
7. Graveyard Hill Cemetery
The Graveyard Hill Cemetery is home to 12 graves, only 2 of which are inscribed. The first inscribed stone is actually a commemorative marker that pays tribute to Charlotte Wilson Burchfield and 8 other unknown pioneer citizens of Cades Cove. The second stone marks the grave of John R. Cooper, who died in 1891.
8. Lawson Cemetery
The Lawson Cemetery has 25 graves, 22 of which are inscribed. The most well-known person buried in this Cades Cove cemetery is Daniel Byrd Lawson, whose log cabin can be found today in Cades Cove! He once served as the justice of the peace for the cove, as well as the postmaster. He’s buried beside his wife, Mary Cable Lawson.
9. LeQuire Family Cemetery
The LeQuire Cemetery is located in the eastern end of Cades Cove. Although there appears to be 16 graves present, there are no inscribed graves, and the stones present are small fieldstones.
10. Noah Burchfield Cemetery
The Noah Burchfield Cemetery has 16 graves, 7 of which are inscribed. It’s located in the western portion of Cades Cove. This cemetery is situated on land once owned by Noah Burchfield, but Burchfield himself was actually buried in the Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery. However, Robert Burchfield is buried here beside his first wife, Elizabeth Hill. Upon her death, Robert married the daughter of a famous Cades Cove resident, Russell Gregory. The most recent grave in this cemetery belongs to Robert Burchfield Jr, who died in 1908.
11. Post Cemetery
The Post Cemetery is near the end of Forge Creek Road and has 3 graves, each of which are marked with simple fieldstones. Two of the graves are marked by a shared granite marker, and they belong to the daughters of Dr. Calvin and Martha Post. The third grave belongs to Armenta Wilcox, who lived from 1879 to 1896.
These Cades Cove cemeteries give you a glimpse into the history of Cades Cove! If you’re interested in learning more about the history of Cades Cove, check out these 6 things you didn’t know about it.
