Cemetery Redux- Flenniken

The other day I drove out by what was once the old Flenniken family cemetery in South Knoxville. (This is a different site than the Cunningham/Flenniken cemetery mentioned below). I have several direct ancestors interred at this location. The site of the cemetery was at one time located on a small rise on the Flenniken family’s original farm and homestead. Unfortunately, when the Montgomery Village housing projects were developed by the City of Knoxville in the 60’s, the cemetery ended up right in the heart of that development and became prone to vandalism and general neglect.

The entire cemetery is gone now- reduced to rubble by vandals. I know the folks who are interred there probably don’t mind, but it’s a tremendous loss to Knoxville’s heritage and a real shame on top of that.

Anyway, here’s some info on the cemetery I wrote several years ago-

This cemetery is located in South Knoxville, on what was the original Flenniken family homestead. Interred in this little plot are at least fifteen graves representing three generations of what was, at one time, one of South Knoxville’s most prominent families. The cemetery is located on a small rise, which, according to one of the residents of the community, once commanded a gorgeous view down the small valley through which the old Maryville Turnpike meandered on its way south toward its namesake.

Unfortunately, in the early 1960’s, this land became the property of the City of Knoxville, and was subsequently developed into the “Montgomery Village” housing project. The city of Knoxville expended little to no effort to preserve this small piece of its history (which is common in this town, unfortunately), and the cemetery quickly fell into disrepair. I first visited the cemetery in the spring of 1997, having been accompanied to the site by Mr. Robert McGinnis, undoubtedly the leading authority on the many disappearing family cemeteries of Knoxville and Knox County. Mr. McGinnis had visited the site in 1989 and had reported at that time that the cemetery was in “poor condition, with several markers down…and a great deal of trash in the cemetery”. When we visited the cemetery in 1997, there was only one marker standing; that of Caroline Henson, my third great grandmother. The stone was covered with candle wax and satanic graffiti. The other stones in the cemetery were down, and the majority had been reduced to rubble. One of my former clients who lived in the complex reported to me that teenage kids were always “busting up” the stones in the cemetery. Mr. McGinnis said that he had often thought that someone should petition the city to move the stones to the Cunningham/Flenniken cemetery several miles to the south, as the actual remains would have long since vanished. Unfortunately, it was too late to do even that.

I again visited the site in the spring of 1999, and found that the entire site was decimated; not a single distinguishable stone could be found. I hope someday to petition the city for the dedication of a fenced marker on the site bearing the names of all the individuals that are known to be interred there. I am not optimistic, however, that I will be able to convince the city to do anything of the sort.

Directions to the site:
Driving south from the Vestal community on Maryville Pike, turn left onto Joe Cook Rd. Go about 1 block and then turn right onto Joe Lewis Road. The second right will be Walter Reed Lane. Follow Walter Reed almost to the end (about 2 blocks). This road bears back to the right. As the road bears right, there will be a row of small one story houses on the left, at the crest of the small hill. Montgomery Village is directly behind these houses. The cemetery is located on a flat area directly behind these homes, and should be distinguishable by the remaining rubble strewn about the site. Be very careful if you decide to visit this site. The best time to visit the area is early morning.