During the past year I’ve been noticing something kind of weird: old cemeteries in unexpected places. It’s actually very common to see old cemeteries around these parts, especially off of roads.
But there are some that I’ve stumbled upon by accident. I never would’ve known they were there if I hadn’t have taken a couple of the detours and excursions that I had.
Last October I took a mini-Haunt Jaunt to capture a couple of these cemeteries in unexpected places on film, both in photographs and video. I’m finally getting around to sharing the results. (Have I ever mentioned how colossally poky I am? Well, if you didn’t know before, you do now.)
CARMACK CEMETERY
A couple of miles down from our house is the Wexford Downs/Winfield Park subdivision. I rarely have any reason to drive through it, but one day traffic was backed up on Holt Road so my husband told me to cut through the subdivision to get going on our way. That’s when I saw the cemetery.
If we hadn’t been in a hurry to get wherever we were going, I would’ve stopped right then to take some pictures. But since it was so close, I had the opportunity to go back and not only snap photos but get some video as well.
I was really impressed that this small, old cemetery was kept intact like it was when the subdivisions were being developed. It was a gem to discover.
ELLINGTON AGRICULTURAL CENTER
On one of our first visits to the Ellington Agriculture Center, we came off the Roger’s Walk path and caught up with the Ag Connector path. BOOM! right there smack near the trail head behind some bushes and near a parking lot for one of the campus buildings was a little cemetery. A very old, very weathered cemetery.
I had a heck of a time reading any of the engravings, but Wayne thought he was able to make out a date on one of the tombstones as 1822.
Below are some pictures not only of the cemetery but of a little bit more of the Agricultural Center. (I adore it there. It’s very pastoral and peaceful. One of my favorite haunts in Nashville.)
THE VIDEO
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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Great Post! I love unexpected cemeteries. There is one in a Shopping Center parking lot here. It is the strangest thing. Target, Shoe store, Cemetery, Hobby Lobby… which of these things doesn’t belong?
HAHAHAHAHAHA! That’s classic. I love it!
It’s really interesting and a very strong reminder of history when you find that an entire neighborhood has sprung up around an old remote cemetery. I know there’s one in RI where there are essentially 5 grave stones in the middle of a neighborhood just like this. Nifty post!
Thx NYSC! That’s neat to know that RI has a cemetery like this too. I bet it’s more common than I realize, but it just struck me as odd. It always seems like we hear the stories of developers who don’t care. (Or just people in general who have no cares about preservation of anything.) Nice to see that’s not always the case.
Wayne probably read correctly. There are stones up there dating back to the late 1700’s.. there is a War of 1812 veteran buried there and several Confederate Veterans, along with others…