The Chuck Swan Wildlife Management Area or “The Peninsula,” as many people call it, was abandoned when TVA bought out and moved most of the people who lived there.
More than 15,000 people (3,000 families) were displaced when Norris Dam and Norris Lake were created. They left behind the graves of their loved ones and their ancestors. They would return regularly for reunions and to “clean” the cemeteries.
As time went on, fewer people would return. Sometimes the children and grandchildren of those relocated would visit and do some work. Now, after 85 years, most of the cemeteries are forgotten.
All is not lost; some individuals have accepted the responsibility for a number of the cemeteries, and the Union County Cemetery Association has worked to maintain some.
However, with about 53 cemeteries in the peninsula area, most are overlooked. Being overlooked is expected in the peninsula’s wilderness. There's the isolation: rivers on each side, one road going in, no houses and no people within miles. Only ATVs and hunters, when in season, are to be found. A 4WD vehicle is best on the dirt and gravel roads. Most cemeteries are small (less than 10 graves – family plots). Few are large (more than 50 graves). Oaks Cemetery, shown above, contains 44 graves.
In the past, the trees have provided a shade for the cemeteries, stopping the growth of brush and large weeds and vines. Now that the trees have matured; many die and fall down. Sometimes storms blow down trees, and now the Tennessee State Forestry Service harvests trees.
The end result is that the tree canopy is open to sunlight, allowing quick growth of brush, vines and weeds. Wilderness is taking over. Before, a cemetery was okay on its own, or maybe a weed eater or lawnmower would do the job. Now the requirement is a chainsaw, muscles and lots of sweat. Not just once a year, but two or three times a year to maintain it.
These cemeteries are special to some people who have ancestors that lived two, three, maybe four generations in the peninsula area. The earlier people were pioneers. They were here while Tennessee was a territory and not yet a state. They had to fight not only bears, wolves and snakes, but sometimes Indians. This was the western frontier of America.
Bonnie Peters, in her book “Tales from the Hills and Hollows of East Tennessee,” calls the cemeteries “Museums Without Walls.”
Among those buried here are heroes of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War or just heroes to the other family members buried here. These cemeteries are special because of the special people buried in them.
Most members of the Union County Cemetery Association are not young. We initially started by going to the cemeteries and doing the work ourselves: cutting trees, hauling brush, mowing grass. Now most work that is done requires dues and donations to pay others to do it. Unfortunately, due to the cost involved, cemeteries like Oaks Cemetery may never look any better.
We, the people who care, need others of like mind. If interested, please come to one of our meetings at 9:30 a.m. the third Saturday of the month, in the small courtroom of the Union County Courthouse. We don’t meet in July or December. Donations are greatly needed. For more information call Ellen Perry, president of the Union County Cemetery Association, at 865-992-4631, or Fred Gibson at 865-660-0660.
Thank you for caring.