Cemeteries of Western Kentucky's Land Between the Lakes State Park

Some may think it creepy, but for cemetery lovers, such as me, Western Kentucky's Land Between the Lakes State Park has much to offer. With construction beginning in 1937, the area now known as Land Between the Lakes was created from 170,000 acres of land purchased by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The area, having been settled since the late 1700s, was home to thousands of people when the TVA began constructing dams on the Cumberland River to provide water, energy, and jobs to the local population.

As was often the case with the creation of lakes, whole cities had to be moved to make room for the projects. Some of their inhabitants, those beneath the ground, remained. In fact, some 200 or more cemeteries exist within Land Between the Lakes. Many of the cemeteries in Land Between the Lakes State Park are accessible only via hiking or with a sturdy 4 wheel drive vehicle. I ventured onto one of the gravel roads in a brand new car, in search of some of the more remote cemeteries, and received a pretty gruesome tree branch scrape down the side of my car when avoiding breaking an axle. If you're not quite that adventurous, here are some of the more scenic cemeteries in Land Between the Lakes State Park, that are easy to get to.

Nickell Cemetery

Nickell Cemetery is a family cemetery, that appears to have been started by James Nickell for his wife, children, grandchildren, and related families, and he, himself was buried there soon after its first internment. The majority of graves are from 1800's to early 1900's. It is a very well kept cemetery, located right off of The Trace, which is the main north-south road through Land Between the Lakes. This cemetery is near the North Welcome Station. To get there, from the north end of Land Between the Lakes, head south past the North Welcome Station and around the curve to the left. Nickell Cemetery is immediately before a sharp right turn, and is on the right.

Jenny Ridge Cemetery

Another easy to reach cemetery is the Jenny Ridge Cemetery, located just north of the Elk and Bison Prairie right off of The Trace. The Jenny Ridge Cemetery is a newer cemetery, than the Nickell Cemetery, with few 19^th century graves; however, it does have a large number of early 20^th century markers. It sits on a hillside and is quite beautiful. There are also numerous hiking trails and a picnic area nearby.

Fort Donelson National Cemetery

For Civil War buffs, at the opposite end of Land Between the Lakes State Park, near the city of Dover, sits the Civil War era Fort Donelson and Fort Donelson National Cemetery. Established in 1867, it holds the remains of 670 Union soldiers from the Battle at Fort Donelson, who had been previously buried in makeshift graves on the battlefield, in the nearby town of Dover, and in hospital cemeteries. The identities of the vast majority of the buried are unknown, due to the haste with which they had been originally buried and the lack of identification papers during the period in which they fought. Fort Donelson National Cemetery also has the remains of soldiers who fought in other wars, such as World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. One group of soldiers you will not find, however, is Confederate soldiers. The remains of Confederate soldiers were anonymously dumped in mass graves and these mass graves likely dot the countryside in and around Fort Donelson - unmarked, unremembered.

Others

There are more than 200 other cemeteries in the Land Between the Lakes State Park, and many are simple family plots, off the beaten path. Work is being done to clear away the brush and overgrowth that tends to make old, abandoned cemeteries blend in and eventually disappear into the landscape. Signs point the way to many cemeteries off of The Trace, but it's best to have a map or GPS (if you can get a signal there), as the signs are few and far between once you leave The Trace and enter the back country. But if you enjoy seeing and photographing old cemeteries, the trip is well worth it!

Sources:

National Park Service. (2011). Fort Donelson National Cemetery.
Between the Rivers. (2011). Cemeteries of Between the Rivers.
Land Between the Lakes. (2011). Recreation Map North.
Land Between the Lakes. (2011). Recreation Map South.