Old Rock Hill Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Old Rock Hill Cemetery in Henderson County. Now settle in, because this patch of ground has been keepin' secrets since before the Civil War, and it's got stories worth hearin'. The first known burial here dates to 1851, when a man named Thomas Clark was laid to rest.

The land beneath him was still public domain at the time. Nobody owned it, not officially. That wouldn't change until 1857, when A.

J. Laymance was awarded title to a tract of more than 292 acres. And right there in the southeast corner of that Laymance survey, nearly an acre of quiet ground became what we now call the Old Rock Hill Cemetery.

The early settlers who worked and lived along the Horn Branch and the Kickapoo Creek watersheds, those folks found their final rest here. Martin Horn, the man for whom Horn Branch is named, is buried in this ground, alongside his wife Minda. Now, eighty burials are documented here.

Eighty souls. But several of the grave markers have gone illegible over the years, worn smooth by weather and time, and who knows what other names the earth is holdin' onto. Among those we do know: John Lindsey, a veteran of the War of 1812 and a Cherokee County commissioner.

Civil War veterans Hassell Chandler, John Boatman, and Jacob R. Laymance also rest here, that last name carryin' the same weight as the man who once held the deed to this very land. The cemetery kept receiving the departed for decade after decade, all the way until 1913, when Era Tindel passed and was buried here in what became the last burial this old ground would ever hold.

Here's the thing about that. When the roads to this site turned impassable in bad weather, a new cemetery was established nearby, and they named it the New Rock Hill Cemetery. The old place didn't disappear, though.

In 1983, the Old Rock Hill Cemetery was deeded to the Rock Hill Cemetery Association, which owns and maintains both sites to this day. One cemetery born from a lonesome burial in 1851, and another born when the road gave out. But the association keeps watch over both of them, makin' sure neither place gets forgotten the way those worn-down markers almost were.

What the marker says

The first known burial in this cemetery, that of Thomas Clark, dates to 1851. He was buried on land that was public domain until 1857 when A. J. Laymance was awarded title to a tract of land of more than 292 acres. The Old Rock Hill Cemetery consists of nearly an acre of land and lies in the southeast corner of the Laymance survey. Many of the early settlers along the Horn Branch and the Kickapoo Creek watersheds are buried here. Martin Horn, for whom Horn Branch is named, and his wife Minda are buried here. Although there are 80 documented burials, several grave markers have become illegible. Among those buried here are John Lindsey, veteran of the War of 1812 and a Cherokee County commissioner, and Civil War veterans Hassell Chandler, John Boatman, and Jacob R. Laymance. The last burial to occur here was in 1913 upon the death of Era Tindel. When roads to this site became impassable during bad weather, a new cemetery was established nearby and named the New Rock Hill Cemetery. In 1983 the Old Rock Hill Cemetery was deeded to the Rock Hill Cemetery Association, which owns and maintains both sites.