Cemetery Resources
Welcome to our Cemetery Resources page, where we share materials to help communities take care of their historic cemeteries. Email Stacey.Graham@mtsu.edu if you have questions about what to do with your historic cemetery. Here are some introductory resources:
- Intro Guide to Cemetery Cleaning. This 5-page PDF includes a step-by-step list for a cemetery cleaning, plus a list of do’s and dont’s, as well as suggested supplies.
- Resources for Cemeteries videos from the MTSU CHP YouTube Channel. We are building a playlist of short videos on basic issues of cemetery preservation, laws, restoration, and cleaning. Some of these videos are from our CHP workshops, while some are from other organizations. We will continue to add to this playlist when appropriate videos are created or brought to our attention.
- Tennessee Historic Cemetery Preservation Program. This page from the Tennessee Historic Commission contains useful links and information, particularly in regards to financial and legal considerations in cemetery preservation.
- A Cemetery Restoration Success Story. This blog article, from our CHP blog Southern Rambles, recounts the story of the restoration of the John Nash Reed family cemetery in Smyrna, TN, as an example of what can be achieved through community effort.
- Graves and Cemeteries in the State of Tennessee: General Information, Laws, and Guidelines. This webpage from the TN Department of Environment and Conservation covers many of the basic legal questions surrounding cemeteries and their possible removal.
Cemetery Preservation Workshops
The Center for Historic Preservation works with community organizations in the Middle TN area (and potentially across the state) to present in-person workshops that combine presentations on cemetery best practices with hands-on opportunities to clean tombstones in a historic cemetery. If you’re interested in holding a workshop in your community, or in simply being added to the emailing list (to get announcements for upcoming workshops), please email stacey.graham@mtsu.edu.
The Fall 2024 Cemetery Preservation Workshop was a joint event with MT Engage Week, in partnership with the Rutherford County Archaeological Society. A group of MTSU undergraduate students joined us in Murfreesboro to learn about "do's and don'ts" and then scrub tombstones at the historic Old City Cemetery downtown.
We are currently planning the Spring 2025 Cemetery Preservation Workshop and will post information here once it's available. In the meantime, please feel free to email Stacey.Graham@mtsu.edu with any questions.
Previous cemetery workshops - Image Gallery
Evergreen Graveyard, Murfreesboro, Fall 2022
Evergreen Graveyard, Murfreesboro, Fall 2022
Old City Cemetery, McMinnville, Spring 2022
Old City Cemetery, McMinnville, Spring 2022
Mt. Nebo Cemetery, Columbia, Fall 2021
Mt. Nebo Cemetery, Columbia, Fall 2021
1-615-898-2947
histpres@mtsu.edu
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1301 East Main Street, Murfreesboro, TN 37132 USA
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