The Mysterious TENT GRAVES of Appalachia

#cemeterytour #cemetery #cemeteries #famousgraves #graves #graveyard If you would like to support me on Patreon please visit   / scottontape   Follow my Instagram   / scottontape   If you would like to help support my travels and films you can PayPal me at https://www.paypal.me/scottontape99 CHANNEL MEMBERSHIPS NOW AVAILABLE - Click Join in My Youtube Profile Join my Facebook group Scottontape Music: As We Go - The 126ers The 126ers... Tent graves, or "comb graves," are unique, 19th-century burial structures in Southern Appalachia (mostly Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia) consisting of two stone slabs slanted against each other over a grave, forming a tent-like roof. Primarily built between the mid-1800s and early 1900s, they protected shallow graves from livestock, wildlife, and heavy rain, sometimes featuring local sandstone or limestone. Key Aspects of Appalachian Tent Graves: These structures acted as physical protection to stop animals from digging into shallow graves, as well as preventing soil erosion.Design: They feature two stone slabs—sometimes called coffin gravestones—angled together to form a ridge or "comb".Regional Location: Most commonly found in Tennessee, specifically in Putnam County and areas near Sparta, though they exist elsewhere in the South.Cultural Context: These graves represent a blend of local craftsmanship and necessity, often found in older mountain cemeteries. Mount Gilead Cemetery, TN: A high concentration of 150-year-old tent graves exists here, often highlighting the region's early burial customs. Miller's Creek, KY: Locations like this show similar structures used for specific family members.While some local folklore sometimes associates these graves with preventing the dead from rising, the primary historical purpose was practical protection in rural areas. While some claim that that the purpose of the tent-shape covering was to keep animals from getting into the graves, it actually was a popular aesthetic choice. The tent structures themselves were made of sandstone from the area, though sometimes limestone was used. The various tents found in Mount Gilead are supported by triangle cut stones at both ends, inserted under the stone slabs. Some of these graves have caved in or fallen apart over the years, but most are as sturdy as the day they were constructed. There are some unmarked graves in this cemetery, but most have worn headstones at either end of the grave. The name Mount Gilead, meaning hill of witness, came from the small Methodist church across from the cemetery, first built in 1826. Tent graves were locally produced through the late 1880s, when they were replaced by more modern, traditional stones.