Chestnut Grove Cemetery

Chestnut Grove Cemetery Chestnut Grove Cemetery Decatur, AL

Thanks to those who participated in the Wreaths Across America event at the historic Chestnut Grove Cemetery yesterday. ...
12/14/2025

Thanks to those who participated in the Wreaths Across America event at the historic Chestnut Grove Cemetery yesterday. In particular to Julea Moats the event coordinator; the boys, girls, leaders and moms/dads of Troops 142 and 10427; and to the veterans who laid special wreaths for the military services and for our lost POW/MIA service members.

18 veteran burials were honored, from a Patriot of the Revolutionary War (David Johnson) to a young soldier killed in France during World War 1 (Pvt Willie Means). The newly found burial of James Poyntz, a black soldier who fought with the Union Army during the Civil War, was honored. Fifteen other veterans from the War of 1812 and the Civil War were also honored.

As a reminder, the mission of the WAA program is to remember the fallen, honor those who serve, and teach the next generation the value of freedom. Please contribute to next year's program by purchasing a wreath at the WAA website for Chestnut Grove Cemetery.

Special wreaths were laid in memory of the first known burial in 1823 of an infant daughter born to Ormand and Mary Means, to Solomon Long for giving 1/4 acre on the south end for the cemetery in the 1830s and to Ira Gibson for giving an acre on the north end in 1887 for an adjacent Methodist Episcopal Church.

Thanks also to the continuing support from the neighboring churches, Stone River United Methodist and St Andrew Presbyterian. And thanks to those who made donations of time or money this year. Your contributions help us with leaf and w**d removal, wind damage cleanup, and in general, keeping Mother Nature at bay. If you wish to help out with a financial contribution, please send a check made out to the Chestnut Grove Cemetery to Amy Lilly at Gibson Bar-B-Q, 2520 Danville Rd SW, Decatur, Al 35603.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
Brrr! 29 degrees today. Was 60 or so at cemetery yesterday. We lucked out.

Thanks to the Boy Scouts of Troops 91 and 142, the Girl Scouts of Troop 10427, and several dads and friends for cleaning...
12/07/2025

Thanks to the Boy Scouts of Troops 91 and 142, the Girl Scouts of Troop 10427, and several dads and friends for cleaning off the Chestnut Grove Cemetery on December 6. See the group picture below and a "before" picture and a couple of "afters".

A Wreaths Across America event will occur next Saturday, December 13 at 10 o'clock. The public is invited; parking will be available at the St Andrew Presbyterian Church on the cemetery's south side. The mission of the WAA organization is to remember the fallen, honor those who serve and teach the next generation the value of freedom. There are some 5,600 participating locations this year. Wreaths will be laid on the graves of 18 Veterans buried here; the earliest served as a Patriot in the Revolutionary War and was buried in 1842.

The first known burial in the cemetery was an infant girl buried in 1823. The cemetery is 1.3 acres and has some 231 burials with 91 in unmarked graves.

Thanks to Ronnie Hendrix and his son Mike and twin grandsons Seth and Logan for the bench they recently made for the Che...
04/30/2025

Thanks to Ronnie Hendrix and his son Mike and twin grandsons Seth and Logan for the bench they recently made for the Chestnut Grove Cemetery. They are descendants of George Wesley Mitchell who was born on Bank St in Decatur in 1841 after his grand parents and parents had crossed the Tn River on horseback at Mooresville the day before; they are most likely buried in unmarked graves near George (as is a 3 year old grandson). His aunt Elizabeth Mitchell Grizzard and brother John Mitchell are buried nearby in marked graves.

Amy Hendrix Stewart (Ronnie's sister) and Cindy Hendrix Wilson (his daughter) are shown next to George's gravestone at a Wreaths Across America event last December. The other gravestone picture shows George at the Pearly Gates. I bet he got in!

04/23/2025

We would like to thank everyone who made a donation to the cemetery in recent months. Your contributions are invaluable in ensuring the cemetery remains well kept.

The children of John Means
-Tom Means
-Mary Ellen Means Willcox
-Howard Means

Patsy Minor
Dorothy McGinnes,
Barbara Skidmore
Amy Lilly

All contributions can be mailed to:
Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q
C/O Amy Lilly
2520 Danville Road SW
Decatur, AL 35603

"Remember the fallen, Honor those who serve, and Teach the next generation the value of freedom." - That's the mission ...
01/02/2025

"Remember the fallen, Honor those who serve, and Teach the next generation the value of freedom." - That's the mission of the Wreaths Across America program which was conducted at more than 4,600 locations in all 50 states on Dec 14. One of those locations was the Chestnut Grove Cemetery.

Descendants and volunteers placed wreaths at the graves of 17 veterans who had served in either the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War or World War I. Julea Moats and her niece, in the picture with the Color Guard, led the event.

A wreath was also laid for each of the military services, and one for the 93,129 POWs/MIAs from all branches of the military; retired service members placed these wreaths. (One of these retired service members served in the Army's Third Battalion, Old Guard, at the Arlington National Cemetery while on active duty.)

These service wreaths are shown next to a rock wall which encloses the gravesites of ARW Patriot David Johnson and his wife Winefred; their son Benjamin, veteran of the War of 1812 and Justice of the Peace of the Chestnut Grove community in 1851, is buried behind the wall at the tall obelisk stone.

Bruce Mitchell, a descendant of David Johnson, is shown laying his wreath.

Ormand Means, a veteran of the War of 1812 has a wreath at his gravesite (in picture with David and Benjamin's graves in background). Relatives of Ormand's were also honored: J.O. Means, a veteran of the Civil War, and Willie Means, who was Killed in Action in the Battle of the Argonne Forest in WW I.

Amy Hendrix Stewart and Cindy Hendrix Wilson, descendants of George Wesley Mitchell, a Civil War Veteran, are shown at his gravesite. (David Johnson had a fairly unusual relationship to George: his son Benjamin's grand daughter was George's wife. David’s daughter was married to George's paternal grandfather.)

Private Darius Clark's marked gravestone is shown; he was a Civil War Veteran.

Other veteran graves marked:
- War of 1812: John Long
- Civil war: Robert Burgess, Thomas Burton, John Cain, Benjamin Conley, William Hazel, J.D.R. Long, John B. Long, John Mitchell, and Henry Royer.

Also marked were the graves of Solomon Long and Ira Gibson in remembrance of their gifts of land for the cemetery in the 1820s (Long) and 1887 (Gibson).

Thanks again to Julea Moats for organizing and conducting the event (her 2nd at the CGC) and to the Boy Scouts of Troops 91 and 142, and Girl Scouts of Troop 455 for helping out in site preparation, suppling a Color Guard and in laying the wreaths.

The WAA event in 2025 will be on Dec 13. As several millions wreaths have to be prepared, the WAA organization offers an incentive to order early (think Buy One, Get One) - - if you know you'll be sponsoring a wreath this year, please place your order now at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/AL0138 We'll get an extra one!

Thanks to Boy Scout Troops 91 (American Legion) and 142 (Westminster Presbyterian), and Girl Scout Troop 455 for their s...
12/08/2024

Thanks to Boy Scout Troops 91 (American Legion) and 142 (Westminster Presbyterian), and Girl Scout Troop 455 for their super effort at the CGC yesterday. Over 100 bags of leaves were collected and hauled to the road. There were several dads and "friends" helping out too. In the latter group were Bruce Mitchell (descendant of David Johnson, 1776 Patriot buried there) and Jacob Cevallos (a Marine who lives in the neighborhood).

Julea Moats will conduct a Wreaths Across America event next Saturday December 14 at 10 a.m. to honor all veterans. Active duty and retired military members will lay wreaths at the gravesites of known veterans (17) buried in the cemetery. A wreath will also be laid at the graves of Solomon Long and Ira Gibson for giving land for this historic old cemetery. (Solomon in the 1820s and Ira in 1887). Parking will be available at the south end of the cemetery or in the parking lot of the St Andrew Episcopal Church on that end.

The Boy Scouts will be out on Dec 7 to work on cleaning up the cemetery (8-12). Please help out on that date or anytime ...
11/26/2024

The Boy Scouts will be out on Dec 7 to work on cleaning up the cemetery (8-12). Please help out on that date or anytime really if you have an ancestor buried there or just want to help beautify this historic place as a "jewel of the community" as someone has described. If you are able to give an hour or so, just fill a few bags and leave them in place and they'll be carried to the road later.

As a reminder Julea Moats will be leading a Wreaths Across America event to honor the veterans buried there in a short program on Dec 14 at 10 am.

Thanks to the following for contributions of labor and/or funds to help sustain the restoration effort there: Dr John Irle, Steve Caufield, Jerry Flowers and Ray Mitchell.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

A super thanks to Dr John Irle and Steve Caulfield for cutting down and removing two VERY big dead trees in the CGC over...
11/13/2024

A super thanks to Dr John Irle and Steve Caulfield for cutting down and removing two VERY big dead trees in the CGC over the last few weeks. That's one of the trees still standing in the picture below; it's on the north side and next to the Danville Rd. That's Dr Irle with his chainsaw at the bottom. He also cut back a hedge row of privet and vines on the east side recently.

The other picture shows the tree on the ground and the stump is about 4' in diameter. The other tree was near the middle of the cemetery; Steve cut that one into smaller pieces and moved them out next to the road for the City to pickup.

And we should also note there was no damage to any of the gravestones. Thank you Gentlemen!

The Boy Scouts are cleaning up leaves on Dec 7 from 8-12. If you'd like to help please bring a rake and come on out.

As a reminder there will be a Wreaths Across America event at the cemetery on December 14 at 10am as described in a previous post.

We will participate again this year in the Wreaths Across America program at the Chestnut Grove Cemetery laying wreaths ...
11/02/2024

We will participate again this year in the Wreaths Across America program at the Chestnut Grove Cemetery laying wreaths at the gravesites of veterans of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War and World War I.

The mission of the WAA program is to REMEMBER the Fallen ..., HONOR those who Serve ..., and TEACH the next generation the value of Freedom. See https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/ for further information. Thanks to those who purchased a wreath this year.

The event will be on December 14 at 10 am and last about 20 minutes. Thanks to Julea Moats for setting up and coordinating this event. That's her in the picture at David Johnson and his wife Winefred's gravesite. David was a Patriot in the Revolutionary War. The other picture is of Benjamin Johnson's gravesite. He was a son of David and served in the War of 1812; he was the Justice of the Peace for the Chestnut Grove community in the early 1850s.

The Scouts of Troop 91 (Scoutmaster Michael Kimmett) and Troop 142 (Scoutmaster Jonathon Dry) will participate in the ceremony. They'll also be helping to clear off the cemetery before the event. A special thanks to them! They are planning to rake/blow and bag leaves on December 7 in the morning. If you are a descendant, a neighbor or a "friend"of the cemetery and want to help out, please come by for whatever time you can give. There're many, many leaves! Ugh.

For your information the first known burial in the CGC was a Means infant buried in 1823 so that makes the cemetery 201 years old this year. Solomon Long gave a quarter acre of land in the 1820s for a Long family cemetery. As Chestnut Grove grew Ira Gibson gave another acre on the north end in 1887. Wreaths will also be placed at their graves to honor their gifts. There was a Methodist Episcopal Church across the road on the north end in the 1800s, on present day Thomas Holland property. There is more history and facts about this cemetery and community in the Journal of the Morgan County Genealogy Society at the Morgan County Archives.

Parking will be available on the south end of the cemetery (if dry) and at the St Andrew Presbyterian Church located there.

The cemetery looks great! Thanks to Larry Stewart who recently spent a couple of days spraying and cutting the w**ds tha...
07/11/2024

The cemetery looks great! Thanks to Larry Stewart who recently spent a couple of days spraying and cutting the w**ds that were starting to take over - something about nature reclaiming itself periodically.

Thanks again to Thomas Holland for granting cemetery access on the south end and to Tom Meier of the St Andrew Presbyterian Church congregation for keeping the space mowed!
>
> We also thank Windy Wynona Pettiet for providing the pictures of her ancestor Solomon Scott Long and his second wife Mary Jones. Her pictures of the cemetery in 2010 and Solomon's abandoned house in 1950 and 2000 (both in Danville presumably), along with her notes, are very interesting.

Woodall gravestones (all hand made) can be seen in the 2010 photo (left side) and in the center of the top one in the current set. The cemetery's appearance is notably improved currently.

Courtesy of the Morgan County Master Gardeners Club and BSA T-91 it was a very successful workday at the cemetery on Mar...
03/31/2024

Courtesy of the Morgan County Master Gardeners Club and BSA T-91 it was a very successful workday at the cemetery on Mar 30. Here's what all that got done: cleaned off leaves on east side, removed loose sticks and branches throughout cemetery, applied more gravel to path sections that had settled, applied w**d killer to path sections as required, cut privett on east side, made two impact plant beds and populated them with a host of plants and flowers detailed next by Doty Henry.

Doty- We had a very productive day at the cemetery this morning.
Flowers planted in the kiosk bed were 1 Katy Road Rose, a beautiful heirloom rose, deep pink open rose. Great pollinator rose because of the open form. This shrub rose has a weeping habit and will bloom all summer. Bees love it. This bed also has 2 yellow Rudbeckia Daisy, and 2 white Shasta daisy plants. We will be adding white dianthus in the center. Bed is trimmed with Mini Mondo Grass.

The other impact bed, at the curve in the path, is planted with a small Light Pink Wild rose in the center, 3 yellow Stella D’Oro daylily which will continue to bloom throughout the summer, 3 yellow/ orange Gaillardia Blanket flowers, 6 Orange daylily, and 3 white/gray soft leaf Lamb’s ear.

All are drought tolerant plants and are perennial flowers. It will take them approximately 2 weeks to acclimate into the soil. We watered them well, we are expecting rain next week on Tuesday. I will check them late next week and will carry water with me to water if necessary.

Thank you to Mr. Kimmett and all of the fathers who brought Boy Scout Troup 91 to do all of the heavy lifting and picking up of debris along with moving of gravel. Cecilia’s grandson Wesley spent his time blowing off the leaves and Callahan helped move some very heavy gravel.

The Master gardeners helping were Larry, Norris, Cecilia, Susan Steele, Judy and myself. We enjoyed doing this and are planning possibly 2 more beds along the walking path. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to help with this project.

Again, thanks to all (from Ray and our loosely aligned Friends group)!

Thanks to several of the Means family for their generous donations for several years and most recently in memory of Barb...
03/09/2024

Thanks to several of the Means family for their generous donations for several years and most recently in memory of Barbara Napps Skidmore to help with the restoration effort on the CGC. Barbara has several Means ancestors buried there and she was a dedicated advocate for the preservation of the historic cemetery whose first known burial in 1823 was an infant daughter of Ormand and Mary Means.

My husband Ray first got to know Barbara and her husband Max Skidmore in 2014 through a note she had left at the Archives seeking others who might have an interest in reclaiming the over-grown property. (She and Max lived in the Atlanta area and were back in Decatur visiting the Means ancestral property not too far from the CGC.) Through some emails back and forth with Barbara and her sister Dorothy Napps McGinnis and cousin Howard Means, over the next year or so Ray and neighborhood volunteers Phil Wirey and Russ Mattox got encouraged and made a significant dent in cleaning back the heavy growth of privet. Where it is today can definitely be traced to Barbara's 2014 "call to action".

The picture below is from 2018. From the left that's Ray, Barbara, Amy McLemore Lilly, then her parents Don McLemore and his wife Carolyn Braswell Mclemore. Thanks to Max for snapping the photo. Amy, Carolyn and Barbara are related as Carolyn's grandmother was Mattie Means Braswell, a sister to Barbara's grandmother Sue Means Napps. Furthermore, Ray's great grandmother and Don's great grandmother were Gibson sisters, Mary and Ira; both are buried in the CGC. Someone once said everyone in the CGC cemetery was related. Maybe a future research project?

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Danville Road SW
Decatur, AL
35603

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