Even though it’s a brand new map, people have been dying to get onto it for centuries.

The Tennessee Historical Commission’s new Statewide Cemetery Map and Tennessee Historic Cemetery Register are now available in ArcGIS format for public use on THC’s website. The Tennessee Historic Cemetery Preservation Program has created a map in ArcGIS format of the state’s historic cemeteries available to the public. The Tennessee Historical Commission defines historic cemeteries as those 50 years old or older. Identifying locations of the state’s numerous cemeteries is an on-going project and the map is subject to change as more information is available.

The map has been populated by data from the Commission’s cemetery database, which currently contains more than 32,500 cemeteries statewide. 

The public map contains various overlays which will enable the viewer to compare a cemetery’s location topographically, geographically, and even historically as Tennessee county borders have often shifted over the decades. THC hopes this map will be a valuable tool for historians, genealogists, developers, landowners, realtors, and state agencies for the purpose of preserving and protecting burial sites.

The Tennessee Historic Cemetery Register is intended to provide the public with a way to extensively document historic cemeteries for the purpose of preservation efforts.

“Not only is the register intended to honor a particular cemetery, but it also provides a way to attract and increase public interest, maintenance and community involvement,” notes Graham Perry, who coordinates the Historic Cemetery Program for the Commission. Applications to submit a cemetery for the Register are available on the THC website.

Submissions that meet an established criteria will be automatically added to the Historic Register. Neither the THCR nor map include prehistoric Native American cemeteries.

For more information about the Tennessee Historical Commission, visit the THCR website at https://tinyurl.com/4tey323c.