yesterday's tennessee

DARDEN CEMETERY

A movement for a cemetery at Darden, Tennessee goes back as far as 1911. Started a movement to buy some land for that purpose. At that time Darden was a thriving town with six or seven stores, a cotton gin, barber shop, and later a bank. At that time there were only two automobiles in Henderson Count One was owned by a Mr. Gathins, Mayor of Lexington and Depot Agent, and the other, as owned by Dr. Huntsman who was practicing medicine at Juno. There was not a single mile of all-weather road in Henderson County, not even in Lexington. All roads were dirt roads.

I do not know what happen in this effort of 1911 to secure land for a cemetery, but for some reason it fell through. It was not until 1940 that the effort to secure land for a cemetery was renewed. Among the early leaders was Clarence Kolwyck, a prominent and well known lawyer of Chattanooga, who was a native of the Darden and Corinth communities. He never lost interest in what he called the old home place, and came back to Darden and helped organize a board of trustees whose duty was to secure land as near Darden as possible for a cemetery. The board of trustees were: L. B. Moore, N. J. Wallace, Dee. Evans, and Clifford Neely. Through their efforts this committee purchased a plot of land north of Highway 20 and just west of Darden for a cemetery. This land was purchased from Lonnie Hays and wife Mary for the sum of $100. On April 30, 1941 a deed was made and properly signed the next day May 1, 1941. It was notarized by W. O. Hill, a Notary Republic, but it was not, registered in the Register's Office of Henderson County until June 10, 1944. It can be found in deed book 65, page 456.

The Darden Cemetery was now a reality. The first person buried in the new cemetery was Robert L. Maness, 1878-1941. When the cemetery survey was made in-1976 there was 78 graves. Others have been added since. In 1976 there were four veterans buried in the Darden Cemetery. They are: Henry L. Moody, WWII; Jacob A. Hargis, WWI; Clemmie Lee Hendrix, WWII; Evell G. Reeves, WWII.

Prior to, the creation of the Darden Cemetery the people of Darden buried their dead at the Duke Cemetery, Mt. Ararat Cemetery, Union Cemetery, and others perhaps.

The people of Darden are to be complimented for creating a cemetery to bury their precious dead on a well kept beautiful location.

Go to Darden Cemetery (markers)
Return to History of Darden