I recently visited a very old
cemetery in Estill County, Kentucky. It's located in a remote valley
below the Sparks Cemetery in the Leighton area. After turning off the
highway, you travel down the ridge on a gravel road, washed out in some
places. You pass the old family home, cross over a creek that's fed by a
spring and up the hill. There, in this grove of trees, you'll find the
John Reece Cemetery. It's interesting to note that John Reece was
probably one of the last interments here.
We
estimated that there are at least between 100 and 150 graves located in
this cemetery. There are about 10 rows with 10 to 15 graves per row.
Most of these people are lost to memory, only identified with a field
stone and/or a sunken grave. Vinca minor (periwinkle) grows wild and
covers the entire cemetery, cushioning steps as one carefully picks
their way through the graves, careful not to step on someone and careful
not to discover a resting copperhead. I would warn anyone attempting
to go to this cemetery that there would need to visit either in the
winter or those few weeks in March before it's warm enough for the
snakes to come out.
Unfortunately, when we visited, I
didn't take a photo of the cemetery itself. When I return, I will be
taking it and adding it here, editing the post.
The photos of the graves are as follows:
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