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Changing Hands

Moffett Cemetery in Milton, Ky.,
to see improvements in its care

Committee of volunteers take over
maintenance of the grounds.

MILTON, Ky. (June 2020) – There may be no better place to view Madison, Ky., and the vista of the Ohio River valley than from the Moffett Cemetery on top of the Milton hill. The 1958 the movie “Some Came Running” used the cemetery overlook to introduce the story that centered on Madison for just that reason. The movie was a hit that starred legendary actors Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine and Dean Martin.

Aaron snelling

Photo by Ben Newell

Aaron Snelling poses at the entrance to Moffett Cemetery in Milton, Ky. He leads a committee set on cleaning and maintaining the cemetery grounds.


As one tours the cemetery’s grounds, any long-term resident of the area begins to recognize names on the headstones of people whom they have known or families in the community about whom they have heard.
Moffett Cemetery had been under control of several local funeral homes over the years.  Recently, it became obvious to people who had loved ones buried there that the cemetery was not being maintained as well as they would have liked.
And so, as what happens so often in this country, a small group of concerned citizens came together with the goal of making conditions better.
Last year, a committee of nine people was formed on both sides of the river to maintain and improve the cemetery that has been in existence for almost 200 years. The group is now headed by Aaron Snelling, pastor of Mt. Byrd Christian Church in Milton. Snelling has been the pastor of the church for the last 20 years and lives in Milton with his wife and four children.
“The committee started when several of its members expressed concern over its maintenance when they visited members of their families who are buried there,” Snelling said. “The roads had ruts in them, trees were rotting and falling down, and artificial flowers had blown off graves and were scattered around the grounds. I guess they came to me because I conduct more services here than anyone one else.”
The cemetery averages 40 burials a year. and last year Snelling officiated 15 of them, he said.
“The committee has made great progress in a short amount of time,” Snelling continued. “Deteriorating trees have been cut down, brush has been pushed back on the boundaries and, with the help of a Morgan Nay Funeral Home’s fundraiser, enough money was raised to re-gravel all of the roads. The next project is to install a new automatic gate that will open and close at sunrise and sunset.”

Terry Willis

Photo by Ben Newell

Terry Willis is pictured at Moffett Cemetery. He also serves on the committee to maintain the grounds.


Terry Willis is a member of the committee. His family has owned the land that surrounds the cemetery since his grandfather bought it in the 1940s. “It’s good to see it in better shape than it was,” said Willis. “Of course, this is where much of my family is and will be. I didn’t know it until I had a recent survey done that my father even donated some land to the cemetery for future expansion. One of our future goals is to have the gravel roads paved, and we have some money and looking for donations to complete the project.”
“We have also established new rules and regulations that have now been given out to all the funeral homes in the area or are available at the (Trimble County) Courthouse,” said Willis.  “Most of the rules deal with plantings and objects that could be blown around. Our mower contractor has to spend a lot of time picking up objects that blow off the graves, and that makes a tough job even harder.”
The new regulations begin June 1, Willis said. An interesting fact cited by Willis was that in the northeast section there was a section for slaves. But since they use wood as markers, no one is quite sure of their locations.
Milton resident Terry Coffin also is on the committee. He was instrumental in founding the committee. “After the burial of my brother-in-law, I was distressed at the condition of the grounds, so I decided that we needed to do something about it,” said Coffin. “We had a work day in the fall and hope to have more in the future, and we are open to more people joining us.”
The cemetery and its surroundings have a long and interesting history. According to Elaine Long, who lives in a house built on the property in 1803, “The land was part of a land grant given to Col. William Byrd by the state of Virginia in 1771. The estate grew to over 2,000 acres and was eventually purchased by Robert Moffett in 1834 who made it into a plantation that produced peaches.”
When walking through an historic cemetery like Moffett, there are many interesting things to see and read. Information is available about how people lived and died and in which wars they served. Some families spent a lot of money on large stones; others barely had a marker. The styles of markers also changed. Laser etchings now adorn some of the newer stones.

• For more information about Moffett Cemetery, visit the cemetery’s Facebook page

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