3216 Long Hollow Pike, Hendersonville, TN 37075
(615) 824-3990
https://beechchurch.com/
Annual Cemetery Tour: Every third Saturday in October.
What started as a trip to my mechanic for a routine oil change ended as an unexpected and delightful find of Tennessee history! There I was in Hendersonville, scrolling through my phone and thought, there must be an old cemetery or church around here... and up came Beech Cumberland Presbyterian Church and Historic Beech Cemetery. Intrigued, I headed that way, glad I had grabbed a camera that morning. I was soon to learn that not only had I stumbled across an old and sacred site, but that this particular church is the oldest church in Middle Tennessee!
When the church was organized in 1798, Tennessee was only two years old, having been part of North Carolina until then. At the time there were "camp meetings" where travelling ministers would preach and hold revivals, and this was all part of the spiritual life of the American frontier around this time. In Sumner County people would travel from distant communities and camp right on this site, all yearning to hear the word of God from both Methodist and Presbyterian ministers. This particular plot of land was owned by William Montgomery and Francis Ketring, both charter members, who sold the land to Trustees John McMurtry and James Kirkpatrick for fifty cents. A log church was erected and named Beech Church, and the Rev. Hugh Kirkpatrick, a charter member, began holding services. It seems the good Reverend must have been one heck of a powerful orator, because in one camp meeting alone there were 500 conversions and 125 people were added to the Beech Church roster!
Meanwhile, Thomas Craighead, born in North Carolina and educated at Nassau College (now Princeton University) had come to Nashville in 1785 where he served as an early pastor of First Presbyterian Church. He is credited with not only establishing Davidson College in Nashville with James Roberson and Andrew Jackson in 1803, but also may have been a significant influence in the life and faith of Finis Ewing, one of the founders of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In 1810, Beech Church united with the Cumberland Presbyterians, and the church was officially constituted in 1813 as Beech Cumberland Presbyterian Church. A brick building replaced the log structure in 1828, and although it has endured two fires, it still stands proudly on the site.
Today, there is a really lovely pastor named Jeff DeWees, who completely went out of his way to welcome me and give me a personal tour of the church, it's history and notable graves in the cemetery. I came unannounced, and yet he stopped what he was doing (he was literally driving away when we first spoke!) to spend time with me. He clearly has a lot of love for his church and all of the programs offered there, as well as it's notable history, and we had a wonderful conversation where we discussed my religious background and goals for the blog as well as some theology. (For those new to my blog, Sacred Sites of Tennessee, I am fascinated by the spiritual practices of the many communities in Tennessee, and explore Sacred and consecrated spaces, including religious centers and places of deep historic importance.) I have to give a shout out to Jeff for being incredibly personable, kind, and truly being interested in this stranger who stumbled upon his world.
You can see from the pictures what an intimate place this church is. Its obvious from the space that everyone in this church must know each other, creating a strong community, and from the feeling I got sitting in the pews it was a place of love, support and understanding. If you are in the area, I would highly recommend that you attend a service and see for yourself why the first church in Middle Tennessee is still standing after more than 200 years.
The Historic Beech Cemetery, deeded to the church in 1799, is immediately adjacent to the church, and there are many fascinating graves here that include Revolutionary War soldiers and their families, founding fathers of Tennessee including the McMurtry, Frazor and Mongomery families, and William McGee, the first pastor of Beech Church. Pastor DeWees pointed out the marker for Col. Jonathan Latimer who he was told was George Washington's best friend! I was not able to find this information online, but I did learn from this site that he had a distinguished military career fighting in the Revolutionary and Indian Wars, and somehow managed to find time to father 13 children! His will is included in this article, which I found to be pretty interesting as well.
By the way, there is a separate and adjacent cemetery to the northeast of the church opened in 1981 called Beech Cemetery, and this is easily recognized as a more modern cemetery. My interest, as always, is in the old gravestones and markers, so I stayed on that portion of the site, and it is a very interesting and well-kept cemetery. A cemetery tour given every October on the third Saturday of the month is the annual fundraising event for the upkeep of the tombstones, mowing and maintenance of the grounds, and your donations would be greatly appreciated. Set your calendar!
One memorial that caught my eye had a marker for the Woodmen of the World. I've seen quite a few headstones that have the motif of a log or cut down tree, and wondered if there was any connection with "woodsmen" of the time. After doing some research I learned that the Woodmen of the World is the largest fraternal benefit society with open membership in the United States! It was founded in 1890, and it offered both a death and a monument benefit. Although the monument benefit was no longer offered after the 1920's, the website says that the Society does not let graves go unmarked. Interesting stuff! Now that I've noticed these headstones I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot more of them in graveyards.
If you believe that you may have family at Historic Beech Cemetery, there is a book on a bench next to the church entrance that contains the names of those buried in the old cemetery, as well as a map of the plots to help people locate graves, .
Overall a great find and a very interesting couple of hours! Please visit the website for Beech Cumberland Presbyterian Church here to learn more about the church and cemetery, its history, services, missions and more. You can donate to the church here, and donate to the care of the cemetery by sending contributions to:
The Beech Cemetery Association, C/O R.L. Worsham
2030 New Hope Rd, Hendersonville, TN 372075
For another post on another historic church and cemetery in Tennessee see Zion Presbyterian Church and Cemetery in Columbia.
