White Oak Flats Cemetery

05/24/2026

White Oak Flats Cemetery honors the memory of Private Richard Zemry Trentham.

Richard was born on April 17, 1896, in the Sugarlands community of Sevier County, Tennessee, the firstborn son of Richard Isaiah Trentham and Sarah “Sally” Ogle Trentham.

On May 27, 1918, at twenty-two years old, Richard left his home, his wife Anna Mae Watson Trentham, and their three-month-old infant son, Richard Parlin Trentham, to enter military service during World War I.

Following training at Camp Pike, Arkansas, and Camp Mills, New York, he sailed for France in August 1918 as part of Company H, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division, serving alongside many fellow soldiers from East Tennessee.

Richard arrived in France in late September 1918.

Only seventeen days later, on October 11, 1918, his unit engaged the enemy in fierce hand-to-hand combat in France. Richard was killed in action during the fighting, leaving behind a young widow and a son who would know his father only through family photographs and memory.

Like many American soldiers lost during World War I, Richard was first buried overseas before eventually being returned home to East Tennessee. The historical photographs preserve the solemn day his casket arrived back at the family homeplace near White Oak Flats, where his parents, young son, relatives, friends, and neighbors gathered together to lay him to rest.

One photograph shows Richard in uniform before deployment.

Another shows his parents standing beside their son’s casket beneath an American flag after his return home.

Another captures the burial gathering at White Oak Flats Cemetery more than a century ago.

Family photographs and historical documentation courtesy of Randy Trentham.

05/17/2026

A special thank-you to Kelly Jackson for sending over this beautiful pictures from White Oak Flats Cemetery while decorating for Decoration Day.

Always appreciated when local families help preserve and share these moments from the mountains.

White Oak Flats Cemetery
Preserving the memory

05/16/2026

We’ve been getting a lot of messages asking how to get to White Oak Flats Cemetery and whether the roadway through The Village will be open for Decoration Day.

To help clear up the confusion, the roadway to White Oak Flats Cemetery is open 365 days a year for cemetery access. Families are legally allowed to visit graves, tend burial sites, place flowers, and pay respects at the cemetery year-round.

For anyone unfamiliar with the route, here is how to get there from downtown Gatlinburg:

• Start at Traffic Light #6.

• Turn beside The Village sign onto the one-way roadway entering The Village.

• Follow the brick roadway through The Village and watch carefully for pedestrians.

• If you pay close attention to the brick pattern, it changes along the roadway route and helps visually mark where the vehicle roadway runs through The Village.

• Continue straight through The Village until the roadway turns uphill.

• Follow the uphill roadway directly to White Oak Flats Cemetery.

• Vehicles may pull over beside the cemetery access area to unload flowers and decorations.

• The roadway is a one-way street and exits beside Fannie Farkle’s in downtown Gatlinburg.

Many people visiting for the first time do not realize there is still legal public roadway access through The Village to White Oak Flats Cemetery. This information shows the full drive from downtown Gatlinburg to the cemetery.

05/15/2026

A special thank-you to Kelly Jackson for sending over this beautiful footage from White Oak Flats Cemetery filmed earlier today while decorating ahead of Decoration Day.

Always appreciated when local families help preserve and share these moments from the mountains.

05/14/2026

A special thank-you to Margie Stoffle for sharing these photographs from White Oak Flats Cemetery ahead of Decoration Day this Sunday.

Earlier today, flowers were placed across the cemetery as another generation continued a tradition that has existed in these mountains for well over a century. The photos capture a quiet part of local history that still survives — families returning year after year to remember relatives, clean graves, and decorate the resting places of earlier generations.

Scenes like this have long been part of Decoration Day at White Oak Flats Cemetery, where many of the family names tied to Gatlinburg’s earliest years still rest side by side on the hillside.

Thankful for photographs like these and for the people helping preserve the memory of the community that came before.

Don’t forget — Decoration Day at White Oak Flats Cemetery will be held this Sunday, May 17, 2026.

12/13/2025

White Oak Flats Cemetery

These photos were sent in by Kelly Jackson and Doris Marr, who were out decorating yesterday. They placed Christmas wreaths and flowers at several graves throughout White Oak Flats, helping make sure this cemetery is cared for and remembered during the holidays.

It looks wonderful. Thank you both for taking the time to honor those resting here.

12/06/2025

Mary Elizabeth “Libby” Smith was laid to rest here at White Oak Flats Cemetery (est. 1830). Our thoughts remain with her family and everyone who gathered on December 4 to honor her.

A quick note for friends and relatives sharing her obituary and service photos:
Several posts are being tagged to the wrong page for White Oak Flats.
This is the official White Oak Flats Cemetery page for Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

We’re grateful to the community for helping keep the records clear so families can find the right place when they need it most.

Ms. Mary Elizabeth “Libby” Smith, 75, of Barbourville, passed away Monday morning, November 17, 2025 at the Barbourville ARH Hospital.  She was born February 13, 1950 in Gatlinburg, TN, the da…

08/26/2025

At White Oak Flats Cemetery in Gatlinburg rests Wiley Manson Oakley (1885 – 1954) — the legendary “Roamin’ Man of the Mountains.” A famed storyteller, mountain guide, and naturalist, Wiley spent his life leading visitors through the Smokies and sharing tales of the land he loved. His grave stands as a reminder of the rich history and enduring spirit of the Great Smoky Mountains.

08/25/2025

At White Oak Flats Cemetery stands this weathered stone marked H. Oakley — Dec. 1874.

From what we know of the Oakley family in Gatlinburg, the most likely match is Harvey “Harve” Oakley, an early relative of Wiley Oakley, the Roaming Man of the Mountains. It could also be a Henry or Hugh Oakley — the Oakley name runs deep through these hills.

That’s our best guess… but do you know more about this grave? If anyone has family records or stories that can help us confirm, we’d love to hear it.

Follow White Oak Flats Cemetery for stories and history of the families resting here, the early settlers of Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains.