Sammy's Trip Section

Have you decided to return to the hometown of your ancestors? To take a trip to Morristown? If so, here is some information you might find helpful.

Morristown is about 45 miles northeast of Knoxville, Tennessee.

The archive room is at the court house. Most of the records are now there instead of the library. You can't miss the court house, at the corner of First North and Jackson Streets. Parking is on the north side, enter from the north side of the building, go into the old part of the court house (not the newer annex), you will need to find the stairs or elevator, and go down to the next level (the basement), and the archives are at the far west end of the hall. Hours (I think) are Monday to Friday, 9am to 3pm.

The library is on Main Street. It is directly across the street from the Sun Trust Bank building. Library hours are: 930am to 530pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. 930am to 8pm Tuesday and Thursday. Closed on Sunday. But not much to be found here as of July 2004 when the records were taken to the archive room at the court house.

 A view from atop the overhead sidewalks in downtown Morristown. (Once promoted as the world famous, overhead sidewalks.)

Here are some directions, beginning at the library, to the larger cemeteries in town:

  1. ECONOMY CEMETERY, est. C1840, is on West Economy Road. From the library, turn west onto Main Street, then turn right onto Jackson Street at the stop sign. Go north and turn left onto 1st North Street at the light. Go west a little over 2 miles (don't turn onto Economy Road, you are looking for West Economy Road). Turn right onto West Economy Road, you will be headed north and will pass K-Mart on your left. The cemetery will soon enough come into view on your right.
  2. EMMA JARNIGAN CEMETERY, est. c1880, is off of Jarnigan Avenue. From the library, turn west onto Main Street and go all the way until the street ends, where you will turn left onto Fairmont Avenue, cross the railroad tracks, cross Morris Boulevard, and continue up the hill. Fairmont veers to the left, but you will continue straight and will then be on Jarnigan Avenue. Continue on Jarnigan Avenue and you will eventually see the drive leading to the cemetery on your left, over half a mile from the Morris Boulevard intersection.
  3. OLD MORRISTOWN CITY CEMETERY, est. c1870's. From the library, turn east onto Main Street, headed towards downtown, but then turn left at the next street, just past the bank building. Turn right onto 1st North Street, and head east until you reach the intersection with Cumberland Street, just past the City Hall building. Turn left onto Cumberland Street and continue north until you see 6th North Street. Turn right onto 6th North Street and continue up the hill, past the Morristown College Campus. The cemetery is on your left at the top of the hill. Click here to go to a list of marked graves.
  4. MORRISTOWN NEW CITY CEMETERY, est. c1905. This cemetery is directly behind the Old Morristown City Cemetery (see above) and is roughly equal in size to it. These two cemeteries are considered as one cemetery today, for all intents and purposes. Unfortunately, a large portion of this cemetery has been desecrated by bulldozing, done by the so called Morristown Cemetery Restoration Committee, and by members of the Tennessee National Guard. If you have an ancestor buried in the eastern portion of this cemetery, you will never find the grave, as between half and two thirds of this cemetery have been bulldozed. I believe this section was most likely a free ground, where poor people were buried, in unmarked, or wooden cross marked graves. Click here to go to a list of marked graves.
  5. LIBERTY HILL CEMETERY, is off of Old Liberty Hill Road. From the library, turn east onto Main Street and go through downtown. Continue on until you come to the stop light at the intersection of Main and Liberty Hill Road. Turn left onto Liberty Hill Road, go almost a mile, and you will eventually see the church on you right, as you head into a curve. Turn there, onto Old Liberty Hill Road and the cemetery is on you right.
  6. OLD MORRIS CEMETERY, from the library go east onto Main Street and go into downtown. Get into the turn lane and turn right onto Cumberland Street, (the next stop light past Henry Street). Go south and turn left onto East Louise Avenue. The cemetery is on the right.

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