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City Cemetery
South Pittsburg, Tennessee
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Pictured above on March 6, 2005 are the two oldest known graves in the old City Cemetery at South Pittsburg, Tennessee. These two graves are covered with hand-hewn limestone block burial vaults that have sandstone headstones that stand nearly six feet tall. The grave on the left is for Eliza Jane Haley who departed this life on October 10, 1840 at the age of 51 years. The grave on the right is for John C. Haley who was born February 7, 1777 and died September 3rd, 1840. Other members of the Haley family are buried nearby.
Photographs by Dennis Lambert
In a section of the cemetery near the lower end a large common stone denotes the graves of several members of the Bowron family. James Bowron, who died in 1877, was the person responsible for the establishment of South Pittsburg after he chose this fertile river valley land in 1875 for the establishment of a city that would be the commercial hub of an English based iron trade industry. Bowron, after arriving in the United States in 1873, spent two years searching land all across the country that contained, iron and coal along with red and brown ores, which were all within a close proximity of one another. After purchasing land options in Virginia and Georgia that failed to meet the needs of the English Syndicate, Bowron investigated Marion County, Tennessee where everything they needed for successful iron production were found. The towns of Whitwell and Victoria also in Marion County were founded at the same time as South Pittsburg as a result of Bowron's land purchases for the London based company.
Photograph by Dennis Lambert
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Pictured above on March 6, 2005 is the tombstone for Mary J. (1867 - 193?) and Joe H. Barnett (1867 - 1945). Note the large ground hugging vines that have grown over the grave marker. These large stiff vines prevented the photographer from viewing the last numeral in the death date of Mary J. These graves along with numerous others were discovered on March 5, 2005 in a previously unknown section of the cemetery that contains several unlisted graves as well as unmarked. This section along with one other did not make it onto the map produced by Ray Evans in 1999.
Photograph by Dennis Lambert
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Two other grave markers in the previously unknown section of the City Cemetery. The marker on the left was set back up by the photographer to reveal the name of Joe Osborne who was born in May 1885 and died June 22, 1928. The stone of the right simply reads "WILKERSON K of P" It is assumed the the "K of P" stands for the fraternal order known as the Knights of Pythias. These photographs were taken on March 6, 2005.
Photograph by Dennis Lambert
