Sacred Ground: Bull Creek
On Feb. 17, 1923, the baby boy of Andrew and Lucinda Jeffers Lawson, of the Bull Creek community south of New River, was born and died, and was buried next door to Bull Creek United Baptist Church.
And so began the Bull Creek Cemetery.
The grave of the infant Lawson, who is buried between his parents with a headstone that is engraved “Little Darling,” is the oldest verifiable grave at the cemetery. However, it should be noted that there are a few unidentifiable graves at the cemetery, marked only by field stone, that could be older.
Once a popular settlement
Today, Bull Creek United Baptist Church may very well be the most remotely-located active church in Scott County. Very few people live beyond Winona, after the road crosses Buffalo Creek and continues along New River into the mountains. Fewer still live beyond the point where the road leaves New River and begins following Bull Creek up the narrow mountain valley through which the stream flows.
But there was a time, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Bull Creek was a popular settlement in Scott County. There were two churches here — Byrges Creek was located a little further down the valley — along with a school and even a post office; Cordell Post Office opened in March 1895 with James M. Newport serving as postmaster, and closed for good in January 1937, when Rebecca Brown was postmaster.
These days, there aren’t many people who live at Bull Creek. In fact, you almost have to travel away from civilization to reach Bull Creek United Baptist Church, which is located nearly 10 miles from the highway. There are fewer than half a dozen homes in the valley beyond the church. It’s a beautiful place, and a peaceful place … but it’s a long way to Walmart, and most of the land is owned by the state or by timber companies.
But the cemetery — like the church — remains active. Many of the community’s early residents are buried here (or at one of the several other cemeteries scattered about the valley), and their descendants are still being buried here. In 1994, when Robert L. Bailey compiled his “Cemeteries of Scott County, Tennessee” for the Scott County Historical Society, he listed fewer than 100 graves at Bull Creek Cemetery. But there have been quite a few burials at the cemetery since that time.
The Lawson family
Many of the more than 100 graves at Bull Creek Cemetery are members of the two most prominent families in this community through the years: The Lawsons and the Harnesses.
Baby Lawson, the first person buried here, was the son of Andrew J. Lawson and Lucinda Jeffers. He had four older siblings, none of whom are buried at Bull Creek.
Like many other Lawsons, Andrew and Lucinda were residents of the community.
Andrew was the son of Mary Lawson, the grandson of Jacob Lee Lawson and Vicy Lewallen Lawson. His mother was not married at the time of his birth; they lived with his grandparents. Mary would later marry William Riley Chambers, the son of Riley Chambers, who was one of the first officials in Scott County Government.
Jacob Lawson was one of the earliest Lawsons at Bull Creek. His father, Samuel Lawson, migrated from Hawkins County to the Bull Creek area — which was at the time part of Campbell County — in the early 1800s.
Andrew Lawson died of a heart attack in 1933, when he was only 55 years old. His grave is the second-oldest verifiable grave at Bull Creek Cemetery. He was buried alongside his infant son. (Note: The Find A Grave website lists baby James Parton as being the second person buried at Bull Creek, but he is actually buried at the nearby Phillips Cemetery.)
Following Andrew’s death, Lucinda — who was the daughter of Fealin Jeffers and Malinda York Jeffers of the community — remarried to Jesse Harness, the son of Peter Harness and Sally York Harness. Both Lucinda and Jesse are buried at Bull Creek, near Lucinda’s infant son and first husband. Jesse’s parents are also buried there.
The Harness family
There is no more prominent family at Bull Creek than the Harness family, and many of them are buried at Bull Creek — as well as other cemeteries in the community, including the older Bowling-Harness Cemetery that is located further up the creek and accessible only via four-wheel-drive.
The first Harness to be buried at Bull Creek Cemetery was Lola Lawson Harness, who died on April 17, 1937 at the age of just 28.
Lola Harness was the daughter of Jacob and Nancy Jane Harness Lawson, and the wife of Howard Harness. She was a great-granddaughter of Jacob and Vicy Lawson, a great-niece to Andrew Lawson.
Her husband, Howard Harness, was the son of Freeman and Louisa Harness. He remarried after his wife’s death and later left the Bull Creek community to settle in Paint Rock.
Later that same year, 68-year-old Robbin Harness was buried at Bull Creek Cemetery. He was the son of Thomas and Nancy Jane Brown Harness.
Other burials at Bull Creek
The first person other than members of the Lawson and Harness families buried at Bull Creek may have been Willie Gibson, who died in 1935 at the age of 77. He married Robbin Harness’s sister, Elizabeth Ann Harness. She died in 1941 and is buried alongside him.
Several of Willie and Elizabeth’s children are buried at Bull Creek, including Elizabeth Adkins, Alfred Gibson, Delus Gibson and Edward Gibson.
Baby Lawson is far from the only child buried at Bull Creek. There were several in the late 1930s and early 1940s, including Ruby Dean Harness, the infant son of Hurstle and Eva Harness, Wilbert Gibson, Clifton Phillips, MacArthur Harness, Bill Gibson, siblings Lorene Griffith and Russell Griffith, and Homer Harness.
The most recent children to be buried at Bull Creek include newborn twins Joshua and Caleb Flint, the sons of Mickey and Felicia Flint, in August 2004; one-month-old Samantha Paige Harness, the daughter of Rowdy and Patty Harness, in October 2006; and 17-year-old Devin Prichard in May 2012.
In one section of the cemetery, there is a unique row of seven homemade headstones. Each is made of formed concrete, with funeral home grave markers embedded in the concrete, along with marbles. These are the children of Garland and Dorothy Mae Harness, including: Charles Henry (1955), Gary Lee (1956), Jimmy Lee (1960), Edmon (1965), Ivlee (1967), Marchell (1981) and Samantha Ann (1983).
A short distance away in the cemetery is another homemade stone that was cast in the same fashion, of formed concrete with marbles embedded. There is a hand-written engraving on the stone for R.L. and Vicie Harness. R.L. was Robin L. Harness (1881-1947), and Vicie was Vicie Lawson Harness (1879-1945). Vicie was a granddaughter of Jacob and Vicy Harness.
Cemetery Inventory
BULL CREEK CEMETERY
GPS Coordinates: 36.31852062377825, -84.445173669193
First Burial: 1923
Last Burial: 2024
Elizabeth Gibson Adkins, 1900-1967
John Adkins, N/A-N/A
William Bell, 1965-2004
Ervil Harness Bowling, 1930-1999
Fonda Bowling, 1963-2013
Joyce Bowling, 1943 – 2024
L.C. Bowling, N/A-N/A
Nancy Gibson Bowling, 1889-1937
Obie Bowling, 1917-1990
Regina Bowling, 1986-1987
Roger Bowling, 1948-2021
Ules Bowling, 1926-1994
Albert Collier, 1926-1994
Chelsie Harness Collier, 1935-2017
Christine Gibson Day, 1935-1995
Delbert Day, 1956-2007
Joshua & Caleb Flint, 2004-2004
Albert Gibson, 1935-1976
Alfred Gibson, 1903-1962
Bill Gibson, 1939-1943
Blanch Gibson, 1933-2004
Bobby Gibson, 1943-1988
Carl Gibson*, 1940-1940
Delus Gibson, 1905-1961
Donnie Gibson, 1957-N/A
Dora Lawson Gibson, 1911-1953
Edward Gibson, 1909-1985
Elizabeth Harness Gibson, 1871-1941
James T. Gibson, 1940-2008
Laura Harness Gibson, 1916-2016
Maxine Gibson, 1935-2016
Tennessee Harness Gibson, 1904-1974
Thelma Harness Gibson, 1936-2016
Tommie Gibson, 1926-1968
Wally D. Gibson, 1975-2025
Wilbert Gibson, 1940-1940
Willie Gibson, 1858-1935
Esaw Griffith, 1902-1980
Lorene Griffith, 1944-1945
Ora Mae Harness Griffith, 1905-1988
Russell Griffith Jr., 1944-1945
Albert Harness, 1931-2021
Annie Hughett Harness, 1931-2021
Archie Harness, 1951-2013
Ariea Harness, 1944-2014
Arthur “Ott” Harness, 1944-2020
Arzo Harness, 1912-1997
Bertha Harness, 1902-1977
Bobby Harness, 1943-1988
Cardella Day Harness, 1930-1999
Charles Harness, 1955-1955
Chester Harness, 1944-2017
Colander Harness, 1932-1955
Daniel Harness, 1934-1960
Darrell Harness Sr., 1963-2018
Dorothy Harness, 1939-2015
Early Harness, 1906-1989
Edmon Harness, 1965-1965
Elvin Harness, 1922-1990
Esther Harness, 1902-1951
Ethel Harness, 1915-1983
Etta Mae Gibson Harness, 1926-2011
Eula Harness, 1952-1953
Eva Harness, 1909-1987
Fenely Harness, 1941-2015
Floetta Day Harness, 1946-2010
Frances Crabtree Harness, 1961-2013
Frankie Harness, 1946-2014
Fred D. Harness, 1922-1954
Fred H. Harness, 1918-2001
Freeman Harness, 1880-1955
Garland Harness, 1932-1987
Gary Lee Harness, 1956-1956
Gussie Harness, 1942-1942
Harold Harness, 1935-2014
Homer Harness, 1949-1949
Hubert Harness, 1938-1999
Hurstle Harness, 1906-1976
Ida Harness, 1937-2004
Idalue Gibson Harness, 1945-2018
Ivlee Harness, 1967-1967
Ivory Harness, 1966-2005
Izella Gibson Harness, 1937-2000
Jay Harness, 1922-1969
Jesse Harness, 1909-1978
Jimmy D. Harness, 1970-1970
Jimmy L. Harness, 1960-1960
Johnnie Harness, 1906-1972
Josephine Harness, 1969-2012
Joyce Sexton Harness, 1947-2022
Kevin Harness, 1984-1984
Larry Harness, 1959-1959
Lawrence Harness, 1927-1958
Liza Bowling Harness, 1916-1993
Lodene Gibson Harness, 1953-2018
Lola Lawson Harness, 1908-1937
London Harness, 1935-2007
Lueliza Harness, 1884-1950
Luke Harness, 1874-1950
Luke “Junior” Harness, 1936-1998
MacArthur Harness, 1942-1942
Marchell Harness, 1981-1981
Martha Lawson Harness, 1884-1940
Martha R. Harness, 1928-1999
Mary Ann Harness, 1883-1961
McKinley Harness, 1906-1982
Mertie Harness, 1915-1990
Minnie Pearl Harness, 1958-2011
Ohmer Harness, 1929-2004
Perla G. Harness, 1960-1963
Peter Harness, 1869-1944
Pherbia “Pheby” Harness, 1880-1955
Pureless Harness, 1910-1968
Rickey Harness, 1967-2018
Robbin Harness, 1869-1937
Robin L. Harness, 1881-1947
Roger L. Harness, 1950-2024
Roosevelt Harness, 1908-1979
Roxie Coker Harness, 1913-1975
Ruby Dean Harness, 1938-1939
Ruth Lawson Harness, 1927-1952
Samantha A. Harness, 1983-1983
Samantha P. Harness, 2006-2006
Sampson D. Harness, 1891-1960
Sarah York Harness, 1876-1946
Solomon “Sal” Harness, 1932-2000
Uneeda Gibson Harness, 1933-2007
Velma Harness, 1950-1954
Vernon Harness, 1924-1954
Vicie Lawson Harness, 1879-1945
Viola Lawson Harness, 1906-1962
William E. Harness, 1922-1990
William J. Harness, 1896-1951
Willis R. Harness, 1945-2021
Windfield S. Harness, 1897-1969
A.J. Jeffers, 1995-1995
Andrew J. Lawson, 1877-1933
Austin E. Lawson, 1932-1997
Charlie Lawson, 1942-1966
Daniel Lawson, 1964-2021
Delphia Harness Lawson, 1921-1986
Ella Harness Lawson, 1949-2021
Hoyal Lawson, 1941-2008
Infant Lawson, 1923-1923
James C. Lawson, 1944-2015
Millard Lawson, 1913-2002
Rosa West Lawson, 1935-2003
Ryder D. Lawson, 2020-2020
Starling Lawson, 1952-2019
Fred Lloyd, 1897-1936
Diana A. Moore, 1945-1994
Irena G. Olinger, 1945-2012
Clifton Phillips, 1925-1940
Devin E. Prichard, 1994-2012
Lois Bowling Slaven, 1955-2025
Lillie M. Smithers, 1947-1964
Viola Smithers, 1912-1944
*This list may contain some omissions or errors. Previous inventories of Bull Creek Cemetery have included errors. As part of the Scott County Cemetery Project, we will work to clear up these errors and publish an exact list of graves at Bull Creek United Baptist Church.
This story is a part of the Scott County Cemetery Project.