Stories of Relocated Cemeteries in the State of North Carolina
North Carolina
April 2013 The News Observer or Wake County, North Carolina reported that Highland Baptist Church on Crowder Road, 8 miles outside of Garner, NC has decided to replace a cemetery on their property with a parking lot. They are proceeding with help of a consulting firm, Of Grave Concern, that helps homeowers and businesses restore of relocate cemeteries on their property. The church is paying to move those buried in about a dozen graves in the Ellis Family Cemetery to Oakwood Cemetery.
Previously Lost... The Spratt Family Cemetery was at the location of the current parking lot for Mercy Hospital Charlotte, NC.
The earliest known description of the Sprott Cemetery is this: Thomas (Spratt) Sprott’s burial place as “buried in the angle of the woods near his dwelling.” Although Thomas was the first Spratt buried there, the first person buried there was actually a stranger passing through, who was thrown from his horse and died.
Now Found! Charlotte's Lost Historic Spratt Family Cemetery discovered relocated to Old Steele Creek Cemetery
VIDEO ‘Piece of history’: City to relocate dozens of graves dating back to the 1800s in Monroe
The City of Monroe is planning to relocate dozens of graves in a historic cemetery to pave the way for economic development.
It’s not every day you drive through your neighborhood and see heavy equipment at work in a place you’ve always passed quietly by—especially when that place holds the remains of those who came before us. But in March 2026, many in and around Monroe, North Carolina found themselves facing exactly that kind of scene. What had long been a small, local cemetery—Crook Cemetery, tucked along Secrest Shortcut Road—suddenly became the center of attention as crews began the careful, but jarring, process of relocating graves.
The reaction across the community was immediate and deeply felt. Shock, dismay, anger, even a sense of disbelief—these emotions surfaced quickly, especially as images and video began circulating online. For many, it wasn’t just what was happening, but how unexpected it felt. A place that had quietly existed for generations was now being opened, its purpose changed, its presence altered.
Questions followed just as quickly. Why was this happening? Who made the decision? And what does it mean for other small cemeteries—those tucked behind churches, along country roads, or on family land—that dot the landscape of Union County and beyond?
According to city officials, the decision to relocate Crook Cemetery was made not by the city of Monroe, but by the private property owners. The land, purchased in 2021, is zoned for commercial mixed use, and while no formal development plans have been submitted, the stated intention was to move the remains to a cemetery that offers perpetual care. The graves are being reinterred at Suncrest Cemetery, a city-managed burial ground intended to provide long-term maintenance and protection.
On paper, the process follows a certain logic—ensuring continued care, complying with regulations, preparing land for future use. But for those who have lived alongside this cemetery, who have driven past it for years or even generations, the impact is not so easily summarized.
For some, like local residents who paused to watch and record the scene, the moment stirred something deeper. It raised questions not just about this one cemetery, but about all the others—small, unassuming, and often unprotected. What happens when a church closes, when land changes hands, when a quiet resting place becomes part of a larger plan? Where do those buried there fit into the future that follows?
These are not new questions, but they feel newly urgent when they unfold so close to home.
And perhaps that is what makes this moment linger. Not just the act of relocation itself—because cemeteries have been moved before, and will be again—but the reminder it carries. That even in places we think of as settled and familiar, change can reach into the most sacred ground.
Crook Cemetery may no longer remain where it once rested, but its story does. It lives in the memories of those who passed it daily, in the concern voiced by neighbors, and in the quiet unease that followed its removal.
Because in the end, every cemetery—no matter how small—marks more than a place on a map. It marks a promise. And when that place is moved, even with care, it leaves behind a question we are still trying to answer:
What do we owe to those who came before us—and how do we carry that forward?
Crook Cemetery, Monroe, North Carolina
A little over sixty years ago, the bed of Lake Norman was dry.
Along the banks of the Catawba River, people lived their daily lives—working the land, raising families, and, in time, laying their loved ones to rest. These quiet burial grounds, scattered across the countryside, marked lives once fully lived in the communities that called this land home.
That changed when the land surrounding the river was purchased by Duke Power Company (originally the Catawba Power Company, now Duke Energy) for the construction of a dam.
The idea itself reached back decades. In the 1890s, an engineer working on the Niagara Falls project proposed harnessing the Catawba River for hydroelectric power. By 1905, James Buchanan Duke had funded the Catawba Power Company to bring that vision to life. Over time, a series of lakes would be created—Lake Norman becoming the seventh and final of Duke’s artificial lakes.
Constructed between 1959 and 1963, Cowan’s Ford Dam transformed the landscape. As the waters rose, they covered more than 32,000 acres, stretching across four counties and forming over 520 miles of shoreline. What had once been farmland, homes, and family cemeteries now rested beneath the surface.
And while many of the graves were carefully relocated, it is hard to ignore a quieter truth: Even when the bodies are moved, the land remembers.
Cemeteries Affected by the Creation of Lake Norman
The following locations were identified as being in the path of Lake Norman’s rising waters and were relocated prior to inundation:
John Abernathy Grave
A single grave belonging to John Abernathy was discovered by Duke Power in 1958 during land clearing for the Cowan’s Ford Dam. On December 22, 1959, a self-professed descendant consented to the relocation of Abernathy’s remains to Hills Chapel Cemetery in Stanley, North Carolina.
Baker Cemetery
In 1961, Baker Cemetery was moved approximately 3.5 miles northeast to the graveyard of Centre Presbyterian Church in Mooresville, North Carolina.
Caldwell Family Cemetery
Relocated in 1961 to McKendree United Methodist Church Cemetery in Mooresville, this family cemetery contained eight graves. Gravestones ranged in date from 1833 to 1865.
Clark Family Cemetery
Also relocated in 1961, this cemetery was moved to a new site on land owned at the time by Duke Power (35.6592, -80.9537). It contained thirteen graves belonging to the Clark and Hill families, with dates ranging from 1813 to 1875.
Cornelius Family Cemetery
In 1961, this cemetery was relocated to Rehobeth United Methodist Church Cemetery in Sherrills Ford. It contained eight graves, all members of the Cornelius family, with gravestones dated between 1827 and 1886.
Flemming Family Cemetery
Moved in 1960 to Rehobeth United Methodist Church Cemetery in Sherrills Ford, this site held six graves, with dates ranging from 1814 to 1896.
Hunters Chapel M. E. Zion Church Cemetery
In 1961, this cemetery was relocated to the new Hunter’s Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery in Cornelius. It included twenty-one unmarked graves and fourteen marked graves, with dates ranging from 1833 to 1865.
Little Family Cemetery
Relocated in 1960 to Unity Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Catawba Springs, this cemetery contained three graves, all belonging to members of the Little family.