Black Jack Cemetery

This burial ground has served this area of eastern Henderson county since the mid-1800s, when the Black Jack community was established. Cradled between the towns of Brownsboro and Murchison, Black Jack became a desirable place to settle due to the area’s rich soil, and abundance of water and timber.

By the 1870s, community members organized a church. The church building was also used as a schoolhouse. William A. Burns (1819-1880), an area settler, donated land for church and a cemetery, which was already in use. The earliest dated burial is of Susan Adelaide Page, who died in 1869. She was the wife of Holly Page, a noted community and church leader.

Among those interred here are pioneers and leaders of the Black Jack community, including confederate veteran, property owner and school trustee W.A. Smith (1844-1926); William F. (1837-1875) and temperance hatton (1833-1899); and William’s brother, confederate veteran James M. Hatton (1835-1877). Other burials include farmers, teachers, veterans of conflicts and other vital members of the Black Jack community. Features in this cemetery include grave slabs, woodmen of the world gravestones, vertical stones, interior fencing and curbing.

Today, descendants of the interred continue to care for this burial ground. The cemetery continues to serve the area and remains as a record of the pioneers of the Black Jack community.