New Market in Madison County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Mount Paran Campground and Cemetery
New Market, Alabama
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, August 2, 2020
1. Mount Paran Campground and Cemetery Marker
"A holy place: symbol of eternity. strength, and stability within the wilderness."
One of the earliest known Cumberland Presbyterian campgrounds in Madison County, Mount Paran Cemetery is the resting place for many of the county's pioneer settlers, with the earliest surviving gravestone dated 1826. Originally this six acre site was bequeathed to Mount Paran Presbyterian Church of New Market in 1842 by Samuel Davis. A division within the congregation in 1906 resulted in the dissolution of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at New Market in 1914, and some of its members joined neighboring congregations. With the decline of its use, Mount Paran Cemetery became known as "Graveyard Hill."
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Today Mount Paran Cemetery comprises 3.77 acres; approximately 400 grave sites may be found of which 135 have markers remaining. Revolutionary War veterans Samuel Davis and Moses Poor are buried here, along with their families, as well as those of Isaac Criner and John Miller. Records indicate the burial of a number of early pioneers, farmers, servants, merchants, physicians, educators, ministers, public officials, veterans of major wars, and those whose good works may be known only to God.
Erected 1989 by Alabama Historical Association.
Topics and series. This historical
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Location. 34° 55.024′ N, 86° 25.547′ W. Marker is in New Market, Alabama, in Madison County. It is on Winchester Road south of Old Mountain Fork Road, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: New Market AL 35761, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in North Alabama and in the Huntsville Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: New Market Presbyterian Church (approx. half a mile away); Town of New Market (approx. half a mile away); Madison County Poorhouse Farm Site and Cemetery (approx. 1.7 miles away); Old Limestone Road Skirmish (approx. 3.1 miles away); Buckhorn Tavern / Buckhorn Tavern Skirmish (approx. 3.9 miles away); Site of Quick Airplane (approx. 4½ miles away); Site of Bell Factory (approx. 6.9 miles away); John Williams Walker (1783-1823) (approx. 8.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in New Market.
Also see . . . Mount Paran Cemetery. Wikipedia entry (Submitted on August 5, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, August 2, 2020
2. Mount Paran Campground and Cemetery Marker (reverse)
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, August 2, 2020
3. Mount Paran Campground and Cemetery Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on September 7, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 5, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 956 times since then and 50 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 5, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.
