Bethel Cemeteries, Churchyards, and Graveyards
PINEY GROVE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH CEMETERY
LOCATION
Stamey Cove between Canton and Bethel Community in Haywood County off of Highway #215 at 10 Piney Grove Road, Waynesville, NC 28716
DIRECTIONS
From Highway #276 in Bethel, across from Dollar General, turn northeast at the base of the hill on the east side of Bethel Community Cemetery onto Market Street. Drive 0.2 mile and turn right onto Sonoma Road and go 0.1 mile. Turn left (north) on Highway #215 N (Old River Road). Drive north 3.2 miles. Turn left (west) on Stamey Cove Road (SR #1823). Drive 0.5 mile and turn right onto Piney Grove Road. Drive up the hill to Piney Grove United Methodist Church and proceed to the back of the church to reach the cemetery.
From Canton
Leave Canton on Highway #215 S, turn right onto Stamey Cove Road (SR #1823). Continue for 0.5 mile until reaching Piney Grove United Methodist Church signage on the right. Make a right onto Piney Grove Road. While not visible from Stamey Cove Road, the cemetery is located behind the Piney Grove United Methodist Church.
MAP
http://www.umc.org/find-a-church/church/33910
HISTORY
CEMETERY DESIGNATION
Piney Grove Church and Cemetery were established in 1879, according to George Augustus Miller, Sr., in his Cemeteries and Family Graveyards in Haywood County, NC, 1979. “Our Cemetery,” written by Nannie B. Smathers, however, lists the official date of inception of the cemetery as 1916 when Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Rogers gave to the community a piece of land to be used as a burial ground. The Rogers family conveyed a ¾ acre plot to the following trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church: A.A. Reed, D.D. Reid, W.H. Rhodarmer, H.J. Rogers and J.B. Rogers.
GOVERNANCE
On July 27, 1982, Bill Rhodarmer called a community meeting for the purpose of forming a committee to help with upkeep of the cemetery that would continue in perpetuity. The twenty-two-member committee determined that no trustee or director should have authority over any family lot, with each family determining the use of its own plot. Trustees elected at that meeting included Jack Rogers, Martin Rogers, and Elwood Shook (chair). Wells Funeral Home was enlisted to contact a member of this committee if anyone outside of the original families wished to be buried at Piney Grove. Governance of the church and cemetery are separate. Johnny Woody is overseer of the cemetery.
FUNDING
The cemetery committee established an annual Cemetery Day the third Sunday in September for the purpose of raising funds for cemetery upkeep. A trust fund committee consisted of Gale Neal, Connie Patrick, Martin Rogers, Nannie Smathers, and Johnny Woody. Memorial donations resulted in a perpetual fund available for the cemetery. Memorial donations to the Pop Rogers fund also provided money for the road. Jonathan Woody continues as treasurer of the funds.
UPKEEP/MAINTENANCE
The Nannie Smathers history reveals that families conducted early maintenance semi-annually by gathering with hoes, mattocks, and mowing scythes to beat down the wild growth. They placed fresh flowers on each grave. Ida Pless Reed raised funds to install a woven fence to keep farm animals from wandering over the graves. Delmar Reid and Herman Rogers raised funds to purchase a lawn mower that was available for each family to use to mow their own grave sites. Keith Rogers recalls that the children in his family took turns mowing the cemetery. Under current overseer, Johnny Woody, a lawn service mows the area.
GRAVES AND GRAVE MARKERS
The land was divided into lots, with each family receiving one lot that either ran the length of the cemetery or else contained two lots running half the length. Families included in this division were as follows: Rogers, Medford, Rhodarmer, Rhinehart, Vance, Shook, Reid, Pless, Pressley, Putnam, and Stamey. Each family had complete control over its own plot, with some families choosing to allocate a portion of their space to other families outside the church community.
When Miller published his book about Haywood County Cemeteries in 1979, he indicated that the space was inside a fenced enclosure, with many unmarked graves evident. Miller listed approximately 165 marked graves. The current listing includes just under three hundred graves.
*Search memorials in Piney Grove Cemetery
Find a Grave: l "srp-top" https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2166659/memorial-search#srp-top
Nanny H. Smathers history of Piney Grove Cemetery - “Our Cemetery”: Click here to read the history
Information for this article came from the following sources:
Hargrove, Mary, and Ida Reid, “Piney Grove Church: 70 Years Ago, and Now – 1948.”
Miller, George Augustus, Sr. Cemeteries and Family Graveyards in Haywood County, North Carolina. Waynesville, NC, 1979.
Smathers, Nannie H., “Our Cemetery,” 1989.
Consultation with Ricki Rogers and Keith Rogers
Carol Litchfield provided directions
Article written by Evelyn M. Coltman, Historic Preservation Committee Chair
