cemetery on Parkway Part 2

More than 75 cemeteries lie within the boundaries of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Some are maintained by the Park, others are cared for by the families.  These people made their homes in these mountains long before the Parkway was built.  Each cemetery tells its own story of the Blue Ridge family.

Cumberland Knob Cemetery

There are 19 graves in this small family cemetery, dating from 1908 to 1960.  Among those buried here are four infants and sixteen year old Rebecca Smith Moxley.

In 1908 Rebecca asked Pack Murphy, owner of the land, for permission to be buried here under an old apple tree. Rebecca, expecting the birth of her child, believed she would not live after the baby was born.  Mr. Murphy, not believing she would die so soon, agreed to her request.  Rebecca gave birth to her son, Johnny.  A few weeks later, Rebecca died.  She was the first for the family plot and she was not a family.

We have seen some others along the Parkway and wonder about them, now we know.