The Joe Bob Allison Cemetery has become the first burial ground in Putnam County to secure a spot on the Tennessee Historic Registry to ensure its long-term preservation.
The cemetery, located off Elrod Road, is some 200 years old. Putnam County Genealogist Anna Burgess said the cemetery is the third oldest in the county. Burgess said she spent months gathering the necessary documentation and proof of the site’s historical significance to achieve the designation.
“There are cemeteries that are being destroyed,” Burgess said. “And for reasons that I don’t understand why anyone would want to do that, but that does happen. They’re protected. The state knows they’re there. They’re actually online”
Burgess said the cemetery was originally established behind the log cabin of her fourth great-grandfather. Burgess said the site contains the graves of Civil War soldiers and a former circuit court clerk from the 1800s.
“There’s comfort in knowing that someone, I guess at a higher level being the state department, that nothing can happen to that cemetery,” Burgess said. “That cemetery is there, you know, the state knows it’s there. They map it. You actually have to send in the GPS coordinates and you know, everything around it. So it’s very, it’s very protected now. I feel really good about that.”
Burgess said the application process required submitting deeds, photographs, and GPS coordinates to the Tennessee Historical Cemetery Preservation Project. Burgess said she also had to provide specific documentation for Civil War records and the ages of the oldest burials.
“Anyone can do this,” Burgess said. “It does take some time. You don’t have to be a genealogist. You don’t have to be anything special except be able to gather your information, be able to prove your information and to get that submitted.”
Burgess said the cemetery was in poor condition five years ago before she worked with a local monument company to straighten markers and paint the fencing. Burgess said the site is also the subject of local legend regarding gold buried beneath a tree, which has drawn university researchers with metal detectors to the property.
“I think it’s wonderful to be able to go there and look at it and feel the feels and be able to smile about what’s been done to preserve it and to make sure that it’s there for generations to come,” Burgess said.
Burgess said she is now working to secure similar state protection for the Richardson Cemetery in Baxter.