The following cemetery report is provided by Murray Johnston. The cemetery is located on land that was part of his farm. The cemetery is located near the corner of Cascade Springs Road and Hwy 412E of Hohenwald. This land was acquired by a land grant given to James Rhodes. James Rhodes willed the land to his son William Rhodes and daughter Margaret (Rhodes) Johnston. Later years a new owner removed the tombstones and planted corn on the cemetery. A road expansion is taking the land where the cemetery is located. Murray Johnston remembered as a child seeing this cemetery long before he owned the farm himself. He remembered where it is located. Murray called the Tennessee DOT and made arrangements with Memphis State University of Anthropology to study the site. With his help they did a dig and verified that the cemetery was indeed where he said. They located eight adult coffins and five children. The anthropologist also found what they now believe is another cemetery just West of the Rhodes Cemetery. Murray stated that it is believed that this is a slave cemetery. The Tennessee DOT has put a hold on future construction in this area of the new road until these cemeteries are moved. Murray Johnston has places small white crosses where each grave is documented as being. Four have names while the others remain unknown at this time.


Copied on 25 December 2001 by Bill & Keith Lawson

This information was submitted on 5 July 2002 by Billy Jackson.  This cemetery is scheduled to be removed by Tennessee Department of Transportation as part of the four lane project on Highway 412.  The bodies will be moved, shortly after the Tennessee Department of Transportation court case hearing on July 8, 2002, to Memorial Gardens in Hohenwald by McDonald Funeral Home.
 

First	Middle	Last	Birth Date	Death Date	Other Information
Robert	Starks	Johnston	Dec. 5, 1821	Dec. 18, 1907	Married to Margaret Rhodes
Margaret		Rhodes	April 18, 1823	Nov. 3, 1889	Father: James Rhodes Grandfather: William Rhodes

Grandfather, William Rhodes was originally awarded a Land Grant from North Carolina for his service to Capt. Jeremiah Crethers during the Revolution. (Grant #15719 Residual, Warrant #206) The land was claimed 12 November 1821.   The land where the cemetery is was deeded as part of James Rhodes' will in 1860.  The will gave the land as a cemetery along with land to Margaret and her brother, William S. Rhodes.

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