OLD FLAT CREEK CEMETERY, (Flat Creek) BEDFORD COUNTY TENNESSEE

This map shows the GPS location of the Old Flat Creek Cemetery.  This cemetery is detailed on the USGS records. It is my belief the GPS Latitude & Longitude are correct as stated.

Location: From Shelbyville, take S. Main Street, which becomes Kingree Road, which is Hwy 82, south about 7 miles to Flat Creek. Turn left (or east) on Hill Top road and go about 1/3 mile and turn right into the residential road and cross the creek on the private bridge. Go to the end of the road also doubling as a residential road to a private house. With permission, to avoid alarming the resident, stop at the end of that drive and go into the gate steering clear of the cattle. Climb the hill and across another fence into the cemetery a distance of about 75 yards. The second fence may not have a gate. If you are not a physical person I would not advise this trip. The climb up the hill, crossing fences and negotiating the surrounding cattle is no small task. Also when I visited the residential owner had several mean dogs to deal with, even though most of them were fenced. The mild mannered dogs were free.  You can likely pet your way by them, however when the mean ones get stirred up the mild ones want to turn vicious too. Generally if you stand your ground and talk tough you will be OK. However, Getting all that taken care of in advance of your visit is much better. You will find the parking to be within 50 yards of the house and farm facilities which I am sure is not a comfortable issue for the land owner nor you the visitor, so you must deal with the landowner.
This Aerial view shows the cemetery lined with evergreen cedars on three sides. This old cemetery is cut off from a easy entry today. It is 3 or more acres and was at one time a very public type cemetery serving Flat Creek. The mapped access (probably the legal right of way) is from the north as described above. That lack of an entrance is very noticeable from this map. To me the shortest route from a road would be from a southwestern access from a road that travels east/west from Old Flat Creek Road (which is also likely to be a private drive). Leaving that road & going northeast no more than 120 feet one would be into the Cemetery without the steep hills and parking in someone's yard. I am sure that route has about as much support from the locals involved as pulling teeth though.
This cemetery was surveyed by starting from the north edge and going south on the eastern side of the rectangular shaped area. Next back toward the southwest corner where the Hale Family Cemetery is located. The surveyor then left that going back northward on the western side as the stones were found back to the north edge of the cemetery where I finished up. Another way of saying that is that I covered the eastern side of the cemetery first, then the Hale Family Cemetery, then the western side of the cemetery.
There are a few more stones that are on the ground and covered and therefore were missed by me, but some were found by prior researchers, However I found some stones that they missed too so each survey has it own strengths. However, there also may be other inscribed stones that neither survey has found.
Maps from USGS Topographical, MS Streets & Trips 2004 & MS Bing Maps modified for this site by Wayne Austin, 1 Nov 2011.