This cemetery in Bat Cave is only accessible through private property off U.S. 74. A wooden bridge crosses the Rocky Broad River, and then private property owned by the Williams family must be crossed to get to an old road leading up a steep mountain.
The cemetery is to the left off the old road in a wooded setting on the property of A. T. Williams.
There are more than 44 graves in the old cemetery, which was surveyed in 1986 by the Henderson County Historical and Genealogical Society. The cemetery is listed in the Henderson County North Carolina Cemetery book.
The cemetery is in good condition and maintained.
More than 31 of the graves are marked by field stones.
A recent burial was that of Samuel Johnson Williams, 1885-1967. He was the son of Marcus L. Williams (1838-1930) and Martha Jane Ledbetter Williams. He married Winifred Freeman.
There is a Confederate marker for Marcus Lafayette Williams. He enlisted in the 25th N.C. Infantry Regiment, Co. A, Edney’s Greys, on 5-15-1861. He was wounded in the hand and arm 6-25-1862 at the Battle of Oak Grove (Battle of King’s School House) during the Seven Days Battles. He “deserted to the enemy” 2-27-1865, was confined in Washington, D.C., and released 3-6-1865 after taking the Oath of Allegiance. He died in 1930.
The grave site of David Mack Justice Sr., who died in 1892, is located in the cemetery at one of the unmarked field stones. He married Cynthia Melissa Williams. He enlisted in the 64th N.C. Infantry Regiment, Co. B, on 7-12-1862. He served through the war.
The oldest marked grave is that of Hester Wilson, 1810-1888. There is another grave for Margaret Wilson (1826-1889). The Wilson family appears to have moved from South Carolina into Henderson County after the Civil War. Research indicates some members of this family later moved to Arkansas.
Other graves contain the surnames of Freeman, Conner and McAbee.