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Submitted: 5/9/09 • Approved: 5/11/09 • Last Updated: 7/25/12 • R191246-G0-S3
Noe Cemetery
The Noe Cemetery dates to 1862 when John D. Noe and two of his sons, Hiram “High” Noe and Michael “Mike” Noe were buried on the family farm. The farm was in Section 22 on the north side of the White River just east of Noe Creek. Over the years, others family members would be interred in the small cemetery until it contained the remains of 17 Noe family members and descendants and one man that was not related to the Noe family.
The cemetery was in the area that would be covered by the Bull Shoals Reservoir. As a result, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contracted to have the remains exhumed and relocated to a new cemetery. The Corps of Engineers had very specific rules for the relocation of the cemeteries from the basin area. The Corps plotted the existing graveyards with the exact location of the graves in relation to each other, and they made arrangements to move the remains to an existing cemetery or establish a new cemetery. Their records were very extensive in regard to the moved remains and the plotting of the new gravesites. The contracts contained drawings and specifications for the boxes (coffins) in which the remains would be re-interred (assuming that existing coffins had deteriorated). Each grave that did not have a permanent marker was to have a wooden marker that was to be 2” X 12” X 3’ 6” with 1’ 6” inches of that to be below ground level. The grave markers were to be made of S4S, No. 2 Common Yellow Pine with two coats of an approved white lead and oil paint and the marker was to be lettered with black paint.
It appears as if the Noe family negotiated with the Corps of Engineers to get added benefits. Instead of the remains being moved into another cemetery or combined with remains from several relocated cemeteries, the Noe Cemetery was moved up to the nearby Promise Land Ridge and reestablished adjacent to the existing Promise Land Cemetery which is a mile west of the Baxter—Marion County line; however, it was reestablished in such a manner as to maintain its separate identity. The Corps of Engineers was required to construct a rock fence similar to the existing one to surrounding the cemetery, and they were required to place the relocated graves in virtually the same configuration as in the old cemetery. The large family memorial marker was also moved to the center of the cemetery. The grave of the one non-family member was placed in the southwest corner of the cemetery away from the other burials as it had been in original cemetery.
There are two of the Noe family members that are not included on the large marker in the center of the cemetery. It would appear that those two individuals probably died after the marker had been placed in the cemetery. The most recent death date on the marker is 1906; therefore, those two individuals probably died after that date. Even though specific space was allocated for a few future burials in the cemetery, no burial has taken place since the relocation. The records from the Corps of Engineers are dated January 18, 1950; therefore, it would appear that the contracting firm had met all requirements for the completion of the contract at that time.
The cemetery is well kept, but has the appearance of almost being untouched at the same time. Like with all of the relocated cemeteries, the pine headstones have decayed. On April 26, 2009, the decayed wooden grave marker for Rosa Lee Milburn Noe Plumlee was still standing, but more surprising; fragments of other decayed grave markers were lying on the graves even though the grass had obviously been mowed regularly. In addition to the one large memorial in the center of the cemetery, old styled tablet gravestones that had stood at the gravesites in the old cemetery are standing sentry in the relocated cemetery. The grave of J. L. Parker, the non-Noe individual, is marked with a more modern type marker that was probably placed there after the cemetery was relocated.
Contributed on 5/9/09 by maxparnell
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Record #: 191246