Two Shelby sites earn distinction of Kentucky Pioneer Cemeteries

 “Show me your cemeteries and I will tell you what kind of people you have” is a quote by Benjamin Franklin that is meaningful to the Shelby County Cemetery Preservation Board, created in October 2008 by the Shelby County Fiscal Court.

In the 1970s, the Shelby County Historical Society volunteers earmarked 350-plus cemeteries and published their findings in a book “Cemeteries of Shelby County Kentucky”... available in the reference section at the public library. Many of these cemeteries have been destroyed since then and most all are neglected. The Board along with volunteers continue working on these once privately-owned burial grounds.

Do your children/grandchildren know where their ancestors are buried? When you introduce them to their family cemeteries and burial plots, you teach them respect. It is up to this generation to educate the next generation. Volunteers are invited to work with the Board to encourage the public to “protect, preserve, and restore” cemeteries.

NOTE- Individuals interested in helping or donating to the projects can contact Linda Pack Clemmons (lclemmons0@gmail.com). Other information about the group can be found on Facebook.

Shelby County has great people who have worked with the Board on preserving two cemeteries – Logan and Shannon – that the Kentucky Historical Society has now deemed worthy of the distinction of “Kentucky Pioneer Cemetery.”

To qualify, two of the guidelines that cemetery must meet are:

The cemetery was established and receiving burials by 1842. (Documented by photographs of the pre-1842 grave marker or other historical documentation)

The graves of individuals who were living in Kentucky prior to 1800.