Smithville Town Cemetery has been chosen by the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation as the site for its prestigious, once-a-year Cemetery Preservation Workshop. The workshop, which will be held on Saturday, October 20, will be led by public history professor and historic preservation specialist, Dr. Stacey Graham, and her graduate students from MTSU. Joining Dr. Graham will be Mr. Jeff Milstead, a noted professional monument conservationist who specializes in WWII tombstones. The morning workshop will be followed in the afternoon with a work session in the cemetery, applying the techniques learned in the morning session.
The October 20 workshop and workday will signal the start of a 2-3 year campaign led by the Smithville Town Cemetery Association’s Restoration and Beautification Committee to preserve and beautify the old Cemetery. The Smithville Girl Scouts have already made the cleaning of the cemetery a major annual project. “We are appreciative and honored that the Center for Historic Preservation has selected Smithville for its annual Cemetery Preservation Workshop, providing an excellent kick-off to our campaign of restoration,” said Bethel Thomas, Jr., chair of the Restoration and Beautification Committee.
The morning workshop, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., is free and open to the public. It will be in the community room on the second floor of Smithville City Hall, 104 East Main St. The morning workshop will focus on historic cemeteries in Tennessee and include information on overall cemetery care. The afternoon work session will be held at Smithville Town Cemetery from 1 to 3:30 p.m. and led by our visiting experts. It will be a hands-on application of what has been learned in the morning. In addition, volunteers that choose will have the opportunity to help clean the cemetery grounds. All interested community members and cemetery groups across the county are invited to participate and use the skills learned to restore and beautify other community cemeteries. Volunteers are urged to bring a bucket and natural bristle brush if they would like to personally be involved in tombstone renovation. The other supplies will be furnished.
DeKalb County Historian, author, cemetery advocate, and respected educator, Tommy Webb, expressed his gratitude for the restoration project. He explained that Town Cemetery was established in 1838, the same year that DeKalb became a county and Smithville was designated the county seat. As the years passed, the cemetery became a place for people to meet and socialize as they visited the graves of loved ones. For some it was a good picnic spot and occasionally a lover’s lane. With its beautiful trees, benches, and variety of monuments, the cemetery was eventually enclosed by a stylish iron fence and was a prominent feature of downtown Smithville. Now, however, the once lovely old cemetery has succumbed to the ravages of time, careless drivers, vandals, and indifference. Fortunately, the Girl Scouts saw the need and for the past 2-3 years have made the cemetery one of their major projects under the direction of Scout Leader Joannie Williams. Despite the good efforts of the Cemetery Association, funds have not been available for more than basic upkeep, Mr. Webb explained. He went on to say that he was hopeful that the Restoration and Beautification Committee’s campaign would inspire the interest and funds to restore the landmark to its historic best.
“I think the renewed awareness of the significance of Smithville Town Cemetery, in the very heart of downtown Smithville, along with this amazing opportunity provided by the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation on October 20, will be just the wake-up call we need to get us all working together for the restoration of this special place,” agreed Thomas.
