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Submitted: 6/16/22 • Approved: 6/18/22 • Last Updated: 6/21/22 • R241451-G0-S3
Beck Knob is the 1st organized cemetery for African Americans in Chattanooga. In the early 1860s, formerly enslaved Africans left the plantations and came to Chattanooga to establish Contraband Camps that later became Hill City. Staunch abolitionist and Union supporter Joshua Beck saw the need for a burying ground and deeded the property to Hurst Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church for use by the African American community. For many years, the Hurst Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church maintained the cemetery. The last burials at Beck Knob took place in the early 1950s.
“Upon emancipation, African Americans rushed to create three community institutions: churches, schools and cemeteries. Cemeteries had always been important but newly freed people could now control where and how their loved ones were buried. Cemeteries were places of identity, respect and community empowerment. They are most worthy of preservation and serve as important places of history and memory.”
Dr. Carrol Van West, director of the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University
Due to overgrowth and vandalism, Beck Knob fell into disrepair. In 1968, the North Side Garden Club voted to take on Beck Knob as a project and the 30 members cleaned the cemetery. However, the aging memberships of the church and garden club were not able to maintain the cemetery.
In the 1980s, the Chattanooga African American Museum, led by Vilma Fields, attempted to get local government to clear the cemetery. In 2009, a local Eagle Scout completed his badge requirements by developing a project that involved the clearing, mapping and photographing of all gravestones in the Beck Knob Cemetery.
In 2015, a local developer uncovered part of Beck Knob while clearing the area for new housing. The developer redrew its plans and has promised a fence around the site. Temporary signage was added.
Hurst United Methodist Church in conjunction with the City of Chattanooga’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service hosts “Clean-Up Days.” Members of the community donate valuable hours to clearing Beck Knob. Dr. Tiffany Momon and students at The University of the South have done extensive research, exploring the stories behind several of the burials at Beck’s Knob.
The African American Cemetery Preservation Fund, consisting of members of Hurst United Methodist Church and friends of Pleasant Garden Cemetery, was established to lead restoration and preservation efforts and ongoing maintenance of Chattanooga’s historic black cemeteries. The group, along with the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University, submitted a nomination for Beck Knob to the National Register of Historic Places. On May 19, 2021, the State Review Board determined that Beck Knob Cemetery was eligible for listing in the National Register. The nomination will be forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register for a final review and listing.
https://hurstumc.org/beck-knob-cemetery/
Contributed on 6/16/22
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Record #: 241451
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