Holt-Fortner Graveyard, In Disrepair, May Contain 35 Graves

By AMY ROSE

Staff Writer

The runway realignment project at the Greeneville-Greene County Airport could require the relocation of a centuries-old small family cemetery that is in disrepair.

Don Henard, chairman of the Greeneville-Greene Airport Authority, took a Greeneville Sun reporter and photographer to the cemetery Tuesday afternoon to show them the condition of the graves and to discuss options for the cemetery's future.

Henard has said he would rather relocate the cemetery than to dislocate families from their homes in the area of the runway realignment project.

The Original Plans

Original plans called for the acquisition of 14 homes with 31 residents in the area, but in March, Henard announced that some of those homeowners could agree to provide "air easements" to the airport and not have their homes removed.

The estimated $15 million five-year project includes multiple phases of construction to correct two major safety concerns -- line-of-sight problems caused by a "hump" near the runway's center, and inadequate safety areas on both sides and on the end of the runway.

The project involves extending one end of the runway and the partial parallel taxiway 1,548 feet and shifting the threshold of the other end of the runway to the northeast by 2,350 feet.

Overall, the project would result in a reduction in length of 802 feet, according to the original preferred alternative.

Plans Revised

However, during the Airport Authority's meeting in January, Henard said the final runway length will be less than the current 6,300 feet, but how much less is yet to be determined.

Both the Greeneville Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the Greene County Commission have approved $160,000 each for local match funding for the first phase of the project.

If a $4 million state grant is approved for that first phase, the Airport Authority would have to spend $80,000 for a total local 10 percent match of $400,000.

Engineers with Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon Inc. will determine if the cemetery needs to be relocated because of a required 1,000-foot runoff area adjacent to the realigned runway.

Holt-Fortner Cemetery

The cemetery is recorded at the T. Elmer Cox History & Genealogical Library as the Holt-Fortner Cemetery, according to Don Miller, the library's director.

It also has been called the Moore Family Cemetery, Miller said, referring to the cemetery's records that date back to the 1960s and were last updated in 2003.

Miller did not have an exact number of graves, but said that number could be determined by an archaeologist using sonar equipment.

Henard estimated that the cemetery contains 30 to 35 graves.

The cemetery is located next to a cow pasture in a low-lying area near Old Wilson Hill Road and the Kingsport Highway. It is on property that was once part of the Valentine Sevier Hardin farm and is now owned by local businessman and philanthropist Scott M. Niswonger.

Only seven of the cemetery's graves have tombstones etched with information. The other graves are marked with rocks, many of which are broken or very small.

"When you think of a cemetery, you don't think of something like this," Henard said as he stood among the graves.

The oldest readable tombstone is for a death in 1820. The newest is for a death in 1915. One of the birth dates goes back to 1764.

Some of the names on the tombstones include Sarah Holt Wilson; David Holt; Betsey Paxton, wife of David Holt; Deborah Fortner, wife of William Fortner; William H. Fortner, son of William and Debbie Fortner; Peter Bashor; and Susan Barhor, wife of Peter Barhor. Apparently, the Bashor name was misprinted on Susan's tombstone.

The tombstones of Deborah Fortner and her son, William H. Fortner, both state their ages when they died, "about 43" and 40, respectively.

Overgrown Vegetation

The cemetery contains overgrown vegetation and several dead tree limbs and is surrounded by a partial barbed-wire fence.

Cows have been allowed to graze in the area of the cemetery and have trampled on some of the small broken grave markers.

If the cemetery has to be relocated, it likely will be moved to the south, away from the runway area and on higher ground toward the Kingsport Highway, Henard said.

This relocation would require the work of an archaeologist, Henard said.

Most of the remains and any pine-box coffins in the cemetery likely will be completely decayed, Henard said, noting that they were placed in the graves before embalming, modern caskets and vaults came into use.

If the cemetery stays where it is, the Airport Authority will have it cleared of debris and vegetation, will clean and straighten the grave markers and mark all the graves. Also, the Airport Authority would place a fence around the cemetery and would continue to maintain it, Henard said.

Cemetery Was A Surprise

When the original environment assessment for the runway project was prepared in 2005, it did not include information about the cemetery, Henard noted.

The first information about the cemetery was presented to the Airport Authority by nearby residents at a public hearing in January 2006.

"It was a complete surprise," Henard said.

In the spring of 2006, Henard said he visited the cemetery for the first time. It also has been visited by Phillip Ottinger, an engineer with Vaughn & Melton.

Henard has not received any comments from the public about the future of the cemetery, he said.

The Airport Authority is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. Monday, May 5, in the board room at Town Hall.