Families heartbroken after Hickman County cemetery bulldozed

HICKMAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Multiple Hickman County families are devastated after learning someone bulldozed a 19th-century cemetery containing the remains of their loved ones and discarded the headstones in the woods.

The Old Primitive Baptist Cemetery, also known as the Neely Cemetery, was established in 1889.

Jenifer Ardry and several of her family members gathered at the location off Baker Loop Road on Tuesday, Aug. 18 to show News 2 the area. The cemetery was previously located behind a house, but now the area is flattened and covered with deep grooves from what appears to be heavy machinery.

There was no sign of a grave or a headstone in the cemetery these individuals have visited for years to remember their relatives. Jenifer said her great-grandmother was buried in this cemetery, but after the bulldozing, she doesn’t know the site’s exact location, leaving her outraged.

The family showed News 2 multiple headstones that were some 30 yards away, piled in a section in the woods. Some of the headstones had markings while others didn’t.

“What monster would mow down 20-plus tomb rocks?” Richard Ardry asked.

According to Richard, he’s in total disbelief after learning his family’s gravesite was desecrated.

Jordan Norvell said her great-great-grandmother and great-great-grandfather were buried there, adding that the pain of seeing the desecration is “extreme.”

“We care for our loved ones. We protect our loved ones here. I don’t understand how someone could do it. I just don’t,” Norvell told News 2.The relatives said there were about 22 grave markers in the cemetery, perhaps more. Now, they’re all cleared away, pushed into a pile at the rear of the property.

Richard said he was positive he and the News 2 crew were standing on top of the remains of people still in the ground, but he couldn’t be sure where the bodies are at this point.

William Ardry said he came to see his grandparents’ graves after church, so when he saw the desecration, he and his wife were devastated.

News 2 asked William where his grandparents’ remains were, to which he replied, “I don’t know now. Here somewhere or another.”Terry Chandler said he also has kinfolk buried in this cemetery, so seeing what happened is unsettling: “It’s just sickening. How could anyone be so ruthless to come out and just destroy a cemetery?”All of the family members are concerned about finding their loved ones and then figuring out where to replace the grave markers.

“We were raised you don’t even walk over a grave, and I don’t know how somebody in their right mind is okay pulling a bulldozer or heavy equipment back here and just pushing these things over like these people never existed,” Jenifer said.

The Hickman County Sheriff’s Office released a statement to News 2, saying, “There is an active investigation into this matter. We sympathize with the family members who have someone buried there. We are working with a 32nd Judicial District State Attorney’s Office to follow the proper protocols and the next steps to be taken.”