Cemetery: Middleton Cemetery
Other: Middleton Cemetery at Polly Middleton Gap ; Polly Middleton Gap Cemetery
Sign: No
Street: Cedar Valley Rd,  SR1752 (off Canada Rd/NC281)
City: Tuckasegee, NC
Township: Canada Community (River township?)
County: Jackson County
State: North Carolina
Nation: USA
Zip: 28783
Status: Inactive
Size: Small
Directions: from Sylva/Cullowhee/Tuckasegee, south NC107  to  east NC281, to left on Cedar Valley Rd /SR1752
Type: Road-public
Location: Rural-woods
Terrain: Hillside
Watersource: No
Features: two small boxwoods at the entrance
Land Type: Private
Access: Inaccessible
Enclosure: Fence-Broken
Gate: None
Established: 1845
Gravestones: 26+
Oldest: 1907  (unofficial record, 1847 and 1860)
Newest: 1945
Removed: Unknown
Relocated: No
Repairs: Yes
Methods: Other
Restoration: Unsure
Association: Unsure
Records: Unsure
Inventory: Yes
Records location: Cemeteries of Jackson County (Jackson County Genealogical Society); data provided by Mrs. Lucy Middleton (now deceased); Journeys Through Jackson, Sep/Oct2001 data by  Frank Ensley (living, age 84), and data from Shadows From the Past (the Middleton and related families- family tree ).  All info available in the JCGS office, 42 Asheville Hwy, Sylva NC
Landscaping: Yes
Paths: No
Trees: Unsure
Crypts: No
Fencing: No
Walkways: No
Brickwork: No
Ironwork: No
Sculpture: No
Fountains: No
Roads: No
Buildings: No
Cement: Yes
Granite:
Marble: Unsure
Native Stone: Yes
Slate:
Other Stone: Unsure
Wood:
Materials:
Architectural: No
Angels: No
Draperies: No
Fraternal: No
Hands: No
Lambs: No
Monograms: No
Plants: No
Photos: No
Religious: No
Scrollwork: No
Urns: No
Other Carvings: No
Condition: Cemetery in danger of destruction
Unmarked: Yes
Broken: No
Toppled: No
Disintegrating: No
Buried: Unsure
Weather problems: No
Pollution problems: Unknown
Vandalized: No
Overgrowth: Problem-Access
Vegetation: Trees
Vegetation: Ground-Cover
Vegetation: Vines
Drainage: Good
Problem: Apathy
Owner: Private
Use: Residential
Bordering: Woods
Change: Same
Reason:
Visited: Unknown
Archeology: Unknown
Habitat: Yes
Contacted: Gene Middleton, Jackson Co. Genealogical Society

Surnames

Ensley, Middleton, Wood

Other Information

The land was purchased by someone out of state, who leaves nearby, and has been selling the land. He has put up a locked gate, and dug two 4x4x4 pits across the road (which was maintained by the state until it was made inaccessible) leading to the cemetery. A petition was filed to have access granted, so that markers and headstones and fence repair could be done. Comments by the owner/developer was, "I didn't know there were any cemeteries up there." (There is in fact another, a Watson cemetery). Access was neither offered nor granted by either the respondent or the court. There is only one engraved headstone, all others are natural stone. Two of Nathan and Mary "Polly" Middleton's infant children are believed to be buried there (1847, 1860) in unmarked graves. After Nathan Middleton was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863, the area where they lived became known as Polly Middleton Gap. Nathan Middleton's grandfather, Thomas, was one of the first early settlers, arriving in the area before 1807, and purchasing land on Caney Fork. I'm not sure if there is 'encroachment without set back'. There was a previous deed preserving the cemetery, thus the fence. I have not yet been able to obtain a copy, and do not know what the new deed entails. I am assuming that the seller was not aware that an older deed for the cemetery exists; it does not appear that the title to the land was searched, or searched thoroughly. Not being a resident of Jackson Co., I am unsure of who I could contact in the way of government/county officials, etc. there for support. The cemetery is in danger of destruction by encroachment, four wheelers, and inaccessibiility to the cemetery to be able to restore and maintain the site.

Support

The North Carolina State Historic Preservation office (HPO) NC State Archives Division of Archives and History 4610 Mail Service Ctr Raleigh, NC 27699-4610 Phone 919-733-7305 Fax 919-733-8807 http://www.hpo.dcr.state.nc.us/clg.htm http://www.hpo.dcr.state.nc.us/commhome.htm (preservation commission roster) http://www.arch.dcr.state.nc.us (NC Archeology home page, links to laws) http://www.arch.dcr.state.nc.us/cemetery.htm#gravelaw (NC Cemetery Protection Act)

Submitted by:
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name: Lynda Webster
Email: l_kwebster@hotmail.com
Date: 01-06-02