Rice-Ratliff Cemetery
Photo added by Sheila Compton Ramsey

Rice-Ratliff Cemetery

Bee, Dickenson County, Virginia, USA

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  • Get directions One mile up Priest Fork Road (Rt.682) off Sandlick Road (Rt. 80).
    Bee, Virginia 24217 United States
    Coordinates: 37.11179, -82.20838
  • Cemetery ID:

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The Ratliff Cemetery was established in 1938, Thomas Ratliff was the first one buried on this beautiful hillside. He was killed in the Red Jacket Mine Explosion.

On Friday April 22, 1938 at 4:45 p.m., one of the worst disasters in Virginia mining history occurred at the Red Jacket Mine in Buchanan County. 45 men lost their lives that day. It was the biggest disaster for 1938 in the entire United States. Today not even a tiny marker or plaque commemorates the miners lost their lives. In fact, the mouth of the mine will soon be covered over by material sliding down the mountain and lost forever.

Around 2004 David M. Ratliff, grandson of Thomas Ratliff inherited the land from his Aunt Sylvia (Thomas's daughter) on which the Ratliff Cemetery is located. David wanted the cemetery land surveyed and a deed made and recorded separate from the rest of the land. He wanted the name changed from Ratliff Cemetery to The Rice-Ratliff Cemetery since the Rice family have cared for it for the past 35 years.

The Board Members responsible for the cemetery are: Altha Rice, Jim Presley, Linda Presley, Jerry Rice, Wilma Rice, Harold Willis, Beatrice Willis and David Ratliff.

The decoration of the cemetery is done on Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. The Rice family usually goes to the cemetery about 5:00 PM with the flowers for the graves and memorial plaques for our Military Veterans who are buried there.

The name was changed to Rice-Ratliff Cemetery when the deed was made and recorded in Clintwood, VA. As of 2/8/2013 there are 23 graves.









The Ratliff Cemetery was established in 1938, Thomas Ratliff was the first one buried on this beautiful hillside. He was killed in the Red Jacket Mine Explosion.

On Friday April 22, 1938 at 4:45 p.m., one of the worst disasters in Virginia mining history occurred at the Red Jacket Mine in Buchanan County. 45 men lost their lives that day. It was the biggest disaster for 1938 in the entire United States. Today not even a tiny marker or plaque commemorates the miners lost their lives. In fact, the mouth of the mine will soon be covered over by material sliding down the mountain and lost forever.

Around 2004 David M. Ratliff, grandson of Thomas Ratliff inherited the land from his Aunt Sylvia (Thomas's daughter) on which the Ratliff Cemetery is located. David wanted the cemetery land surveyed and a deed made and recorded separate from the rest of the land. He wanted the name changed from Ratliff Cemetery to The Rice-Ratliff Cemetery since the Rice family have cared for it for the past 35 years.

The Board Members responsible for the cemetery are: Altha Rice, Jim Presley, Linda Presley, Jerry Rice, Wilma Rice, Harold Willis, Beatrice Willis and David Ratliff.

The decoration of the cemetery is done on Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. The Rice family usually goes to the cemetery about 5:00 PM with the flowers for the graves and memorial plaques for our Military Veterans who are buried there.

The name was changed to Rice-Ratliff Cemetery when the deed was made and recorded in Clintwood, VA. As of 2/8/2013 there are 23 graves.









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  • Added: 7 Feb 2013
  • Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 2483479