Cemetery Spotlight: Fernwood Cemetery in Henderson, Kentucky

 A couple of years ago, I had a burst of creativity in writing posts called "Cemetery Spotlight" in my cemetery group -- Henderson Ky Cemetery Research Group. Before I write up any new ones -- I'd like to go back and re-visit a few of the originals.

The first cemetery I wrote about, on July 24th, 2017, was Fernwood Cemetery. This post has now been edited with new and more accurate information. 

Originally, Fernwood was just called the "City Cemetery" and was located downtown at 4th and Elm Street where the city bus garage is currently located. In 1849, they decided, "hey, we need a new place that's much bigger; we're starting to have too many dead and not enough space," and thus the moving of the cemetery begun.

I originally reported that the first burial in Fernwood was 1852 -- but I believe it was 1854, instead. I believe Mary Owen, death date February 18th, 1854, was the first grave in the new Fernwood Cemetery. Any tombstone you see with a death date prior to 1854, the person was originally buried in the old City Cemetery. Not every tombstone was moved, and definitely not every body was moved, either. But there are quite a few old tombstones in Fernwood with a date older than 1854, and those would be from the original cemetery -- for example:

Captain Wynn Dixon who died in 1829. Mary Smith Towles who died in 1831. Martha Cunningham who died in 1832. Elizabeth (Scott) McCallister who died in 1833. Rebecca (Hart) Dixon who died in 1833 as well. The list goes on and on.

There are also some other cemeteries that have been moved INTO Fernwood over the years.. Swann/Farmer Cemetery for example. There is a marker towards the front of the cemetery bearing the names of all the graves they found out in the Swann/Farmer Cemetery.

There are several notable people of prominence buried in the cemetery. From congressmen, governors, senators, to even a professional golfer; you can find many people of many different walks of life resting peacefully in the cemetery.

One of the stories you'll learn, sometimes on the Fernwood Tour and others on Spooks and Legends, is that Henderson had a bad cholera outbreak in the early 1800's, when the city cemetery was still being used. Cholera is something typically picked up by bad drinking water (and back in those days, folks used well water.)

When they were moving the bodies from the original city cemetery downtown to the new place "Fernwood," guess what happened to break out again in about 1850-1852? You guessed it...Cholera.

Most of us that live in Henderson have countless kin buried here. I have countless ancestors resting here and have the privilege of living right beside this beautiful place. I was raised in the cemetery, my parents pushing my stroller around it to help me fall asleep as a tot. I learned to ride my bicycle in the cemetery. Some of my fondest memories involve this cemetery. It's extremely close to my heart.

Every September for the last handful of years - they've had a great walking tour with actors depicting people of prominence buried in the cemetery. (2020, due to the pandemic, they did not have the Fernwood Cemetery Tour. I hope and pray it returns for 2021.)

This cemetery is located at 920 Madison Street. It bears, at the very least, 17,000 burials. The neighborhood is actually referred to as "Fernwood." Right across from the cemetery is "Fernwood Avenue." Across from the front entrance, where Raj's Mart is now - at 925 Madison Street - was Fernwood Flowers, back in the day. For as many burials as Fernwood has, I can only imagine how busy that flower shop stayed, day in and day out!

If you've ever been to Fernwood, then please, share your experiences! Who all of your family is buried there? How often do you visit? When was the first time you ever visited the cemetery? 

I'll start us off by saying I have several relatives in Fernwood. I can see my Great-Grandparents (Henry Sandefur & Anna Thompson)'s grave from my bedroom window. Henry's parents -- Eugene Sandefur & Ollie Moss, and his 3 of 4 of his Grandparents -- Philo Sandefur & Susan Jarrett, and Jane (Hazelwood) Moss Watkins are buried in the cemetery as well. We have numerous other Uncles, Aunts, and cousins there but that would take much too long to type out!