Davidson County cemetery survey finishes Phase 4; 476 historic sites recorded to date

Lauren Walls, branch manager for New South Associates’ Tennessee office, told the Metro Historical Commission that New South completed fieldwork for Phase 4 of the Davidson County cemetery survey and has submitted survey forms and GIS deliverables to the Tennessee Historical Commission for review.

The presentation said Phase 4 documented 131 cemeteries and brought the project total to 476 historic cemeteries surveyed since the project began in 2022. “We completed the field work back at the July and we are now into the final... data cleanup and submission of all of the cemetery survey forms to the THC,” Walls said. She described the work as grant-funded and using consistent methods across phases to create a countywide dataset.

The surveyors spotlighted several cemeteries in East Davidson County to illustrate conditions and threats. Collier Harris Cemetery, an African American family cemetery, contains a burial range the presenter estimated at about 193 years with markers dating from about 1819 through recent burials, and shows evidence of ongoing custodial care in places. Walls said the site includes hand-carved stones and a World War II veteran marker.

Long Neck Cemetery, described by Walls after a nearby…