Buffalo Ridge Cemetery
2003
Located on Hales Chapel Road in the Gray area of Washington County. Turn onto Holly Lane and take an immediate right turn onto Freeman Lane. The cemetery is at the end of the road.
GPS Location: 36.23. 23N 082.27.54W; Elevation 1636 ft.
Buffalo Ridge Cemetery Map
Surveyed, transcribed and donated to the Washington County TNGen Web 5 September 2003 by Elaine Cantrell, Chester Willis, Dawn Peters, Bob Shell, Donna Briggs and Betty Jane Hylton members of the Cemetery Survey Team of Northeast Tennessee.Updated 3 Oct 2020 by George M. Edwards.
Copyrighted 2012 by the Cemetery Survey Team of Northeast Tennessee. No part may be copied without written permission from the Cemetery Survey Team.
Jonathan Mulkey Monument reads: Jonathan Mulkey 1752 – 1826 First Baptist preacher in Tennessee Restored by Tennessee Baptist Historical Society Central WMJ Johnson City, Tenn. October 26, 1938.
There is a full size grave with a slab covering, no inscription visible.
According to Washington County Tennessee Tombstone Inscriptions, by Charles M. Bennett and the Watauga Association of Genealogists, V.III, with permission from Loraine B. Rae.
The following were found in 1957 but not in 2003:
Barnes, Charles A., Jun 29, 1873 –
Barnes Nellie J., Oct. 25, 1882 –
Bishop, M.E., d. March 6, 1894
Bishop, W.J., d. Aug 24, 1892 “Father’
Two limestone markers with the initials J.T.H. and W.C.H. These are between Evelyn R. Hale and Barbara Jeanne Hale.
Ketchem, Annie, 1874-1936
Information from Charles M. Bennett’s files indicate that the following are buried in unmarked graves:
Gresham, Thomas, Rev. War, 3rd VA Rgt. Died before 1804.
His wife, Dorcas Lane, dau. of John Fuller and Elizabeth Cloud Lane. Dorcase married (2) Nathaniel Davis.
Lane, John Fuller, 1727 – 1785, born Baltimore, MD, son of Richard and Sarah Fuller Lane.
Shipley, Benjamin, Sr., 1770 – ca 1802/03.
From History of Washington County Tennessee, 1988, by the Watauga Association of Genealogists, p. 114:
… Quite a large cemetery is located on Buffalo Ridge at the site of the old church, with names on the stones representing many of the families living in Washington County and East Tennessee. There are approximately 500 graves containing many early settlers, including Jonathan Mulkey and his family. The oldest stone found is that of Sarah Crouch, who died march 11, 1782, just four years after the church was organized. Surnames of persons buried in the cemetery include: Adams, Agee, Ashby, Archer, Barnes, Beasley, Bishop,Buckingham, Chase, Conner, Crouch, Crawford, Curtis, Davidson, Davis, Denney, DeVault, Edwards, Fitz, Ford, Good Gray, Gesham, Hale, Hamilton, Harrison, Helm, Isenberg, Jenkins, Ketchem, Kitzmiller, Lane, Martin, Milburn, Milhorn, Miller, Mohlar, Morrell, Mulkey, Murray, Osborne, Owens Rayns, Riley, Rosenbaum, and Susong.
“Buffalo Ridge Cemetery, Clue to Gray’s Early Days”, Johnson City Press, Sept. 14, 1986:
The C.C & O. Railroad was built through this area in 1907-1908, with a railroad station located about two miles from Buffalo Ridge Baptist Church. Some black workers on the railroad died and are buried in the back of the cemetery. There are not markers.