ocated 2.1 mi. west of intersection of Middleburg Rd./TN-202 & US-641, via TN-202.

Camp Ground Cemetery is the major cemetery serving the Garrett Community of Decatur County, Tennessee. Along with Bear Creek and Duke's Chapel (in Henderson County), it also serves the Beacon Community. The cemetery is located at the old Camp Ground Cumberland Presbyterian Church, which formed in 1841. This cemetery probably is older and may have originated as a Rushing family cemetery. The cemetery is indicated on the U.S.G.S. Scotts Hill quadrangle (1986).



Camp Ground Cemetery appears to be well maintained. However, there are two major problems. At one time there were many fieldstones here, particularly near the southwest corner of the part of the cemetery enclosed by the driveway loop constructed in the late 1980s. . Many of the remaining fieldstones have been laid flat and are now disappearing. Some of the older graves in the cemetery most likely have been lost to new burials. The other problem is that the older marble markers at some time (probably early 1960s) were cleaned by sandblasting. The sand blasting damaged the surfaces of the markers and exposed then to accelerated erosion. Now many names are inscriptions are almost unreadable. Some can be identified only by comparing barely readable bits of dates with a record made in 1976. Of all nineteenth century cemeteries in the area, the nineteenth century markers here are in the worst condition.



Many antebellum church cemeteries in the south had a black section, and Campground probably did too. The church itself dates to the early 1840s but the cemetery is older. The possible black graves were marked until the late 1950s. At the time the cemetery was smaller than it is now, the circle drive had not been built, cedar trees still marked the graves of Nancy Rushing and her son Calvin, most fieldstones were still upright, and the woods to the west began immediately behind the grave of Calvin Rushing. In the northwest corner of the cemetery were two rows of 8-10 small fieldstones, right on the edge of the woods. The fieldstones were smaller than those used elsewhere. This would have been the part of the cemetery farthest from the nineteenth century log church. Small fieldstones at the back of the cemetery is typical of black burials at mixed-race church cemeteries. (some info from TNGenWeb.org)