Maplewood Cemetery

Maplewood Cemetery. City of Pulaski, Tennessee. In 1854, the City Board of Mayor and Aldermen of Pulaski recognized the need for an additional cemetery. The initial purchase of what is now Maplewood Cemetery was approximately seven acres. The first lots were sold in 1855. This original design of what was named “New Pulaski Cemetery,” shows the names of the original purchasers of lots. Transfers have taken place over the years. According to the best records available, the first person to be buried here was Robert H. Watkins., The eastern section of the “New Pulaski Cemetery” was designated as “Potter’s Field”, and indigents and unknowns were given a dignified internment there., The City Board controlled this property until 1856 when an Act of the Tennessee General Assembly was passed and a charter for a corporation granted. A Board of Trustees was appointed by the City Board to manage the affairs of the cemetery. Oversight continued with Trustees for 139 years until in 1995 the ownership of the cemetery was transferred back to the City of Pulaski., In 1880 it was suggested that a more attractive name should be given to this “Silent City,” The Board of Trustees appointed a committee and suggestions for a new name were made through the columns of the Pulaski Citizen. The name, Maplewood, was suggested by Mrs. John A. Jackson. It was accepted and the cemetery was formally re-named., More land has been added over the years, the first of which was six acres on the south side, added in 1878, including a specific area for burial of “Negro citizens.”, Times of turmoil are represented by the graves of those who fought in the Civil War, two World Wars, Korea and Vietnam., This place reflects the history of Pulaski and Giles County as the rich and poor, prominent and unknown, rest in graves marked by unique and beautiful statuary or simple ground stones.