October 16, 2018
By: Marsha Darrah
Historical Town Cemetery will be the site of the prestigious Cemetery Preservation Workshop presented by Middle Tennessee State University Center for Historic Preservation this Saturday, October 20th.
Dr. Stacey Graham, cemetery preservation specialist, who directs the project, will be assisted by MTSU grad students. Jeff Milstead, a noted World War II tombstone preservationist, who was featured in a piece by WSMV TV, will also be joining Dr. Graham. The workshop will consist of a morning classroom session where participants will learn about preservation techniques. At the cemetery in the afternoon session, participants will receive individual, hands-on instruction in cleaning, caring for, and preserving gravestones using information they learned in the morning session.
The Beautification and Restoration Committee of the Smithville Town Cemetery Association
with the help of the Girl Scouts is making a valiant effort to restore the cemetery to its once-beautiful state. The Preservation Workshop is the first step In their campaign.
Bethel Thomas, Jr., formerly of Smithville, now of Memphis and Chairperson of the Committee, states, “We are appreciative and honored that the Center for Historic Preservation has selected Smithville to present its fall Cemetery Preservation Workshop and help us kick off our campaign.” He goes on to say that this presents an opportunity for all community members to learn preservation techniques and to take that knowledge back to their own cemeteries.
County Historian, Tommy Webb, declared that the old cemetery is a Smithville landmark, dating back to I838, the year that DeKalb became a county and Smithville was declared the county seat. By the I880’s the cemetery had attained park-like status. It was eventually enclosed by a stately iron fence and became a prominent feature of downtown Smithville. He commented that folks would take beautiful, home grown flowers and buckets of water and decorate the graves . Then they would stroll through the cemetery, admire other gravesites, and enjoy the afternoon visiting with friends. Benches provided a place to rest when the strolling and visiting became too arduous. People were known to have picnics there and it was even used as a lovers’ lane by the teenagers.
Don’t forget Rain or Shine
Morning Workshop: 9-11:30 a.m. Community Room, Smithville City Hall, 104 East Main Street, Smithville
Afternoon: Smithville Town Cemetery: 1-3:30 p.m.
For the afternoon session everyone will need to bring a bucket, a soft, natural bristle brush, and
a pump spray bottle. Nitrile Gloves and chemicals for use on the historic stones will be furnished by the Cemetery Association. If you decide to do some cleaning and grounds work, please bring rakes, clippers, a trash bag, and possibly rain gear.