Land for the Holden homestead was originally purchased by the family in the mid 1800s.
The home was at the base of the hill upon which sits the old Holden Cemetery. The land
was sold to the Georgia Power Company around 1940, but Sam Holden had a lease and
was living there at least as late as 1948. The USFS purchased the tract in 1972.
One of the more interesting aspects of this homesite for me is the robust terraces along
the hillside, some of the largest farm terraces I've seen. There are about seven terraces;
each one is 6-8 feet high, with width of the flat areas varying with the contour of the steep
hillside. They are so large that they are easily seen on Google's terrain map view.
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A nice chimney, still standing
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Side view of the chimney / fireplace
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When looking for old homesites, you know you're getting close when you come across daffodils...
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An old hay baler sinking into the ground.
I guess years ago this was open bottom land.
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I identified this unit as a 1945 McCormick 50 T baler.
The engine and large fly wheel are missing...
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Large terrace, with a second one rising at upper left.
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Standing on a terrace, viewing the wall of the next terrace, with a third visible in the background...
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From the eastern end of the terraces, the edge of three terraces are visible...
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View down along a terrace edge
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Three levels of terraces can be seen in this view through the trees.
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Terraces as seen on Google maps.
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High above the homestead on a small peak sits the old Holden Cemetery, a rather interesting site as grave-
yards go. The majority of the marked graves are Holdens, followed by many Bynums. A number of other
families are represented in smaller numbers. It appears that the last burial here was around WW-II.
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Holden Cemetery, at the top of a thickly wooded hill.
Note the gravestone slightly to the right of center foreground, then read the story below the next photo.
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From The Clayton Tribune, Thursday, August 10, 1899:
The Sad Death of Waller Bynum.
"On last Friday, about 4 o'clock, near Pine Mountain, Waller Bynum, aged 18 years, was killed while being dragged nearly two miles by a mule. Young Bynum, divested of nearly every [piece] of clothing by the long distance he was dragged over rocks and the hard road, was found hanging by his left foot to an iron stirrup, dead. The young man was going to school of Miss Thornton, who has charge of the school at Mount Pleasant, about two miles from the home of the Bynum family. On the morning of the fatal accident he took two mules from home for the purpose of going to the Glade school house where his sister, Miss Genelia, has been teaching. After school he [started] for his sister riding one mule and leading the other, and when about a mile from the Mt. Pleasant school, in some way the saddle became turned on one of the mules - this is presumed from the fact at this point the print of his head was seen in the sand along the road for 30 or 40 yards and then for some little distance no sign was seen. This shows that he was making an effort to regain his position on the mule, but the remaining distance showed that his body was constantly on the ground for nearly the distance of two miles. From all signs the mule was going with all the speed that was in his power. Not far from the place where he had had a scuffle with the mules his hat was found and along the entire distance blood and small pieces of his clothing were found in the road and the print of the body and blood along presents a sad scene. His collar bone was broken and the skin and flesh was torn from the back of his head to the skull, and otherwise bruised and flesh torn. The peculiar circumstance under which young Bynum lost his life make it a very sad one."
(This photo courtesy of Dawn Watson of Rabun Gap. I didn't take a close-up of this stone at the time, because I didn't know the story behind it.)
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The cemetery contains two walled-in stone enclosures at the center of the knoll.
Sections of the wall exteriors included several large marked stones.
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One of the engraved stones in the wall:
H. H.
H. H.
DI 18 WR 1854
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Another marked stone in the wall:
R. H.
DE FEB 7 D. 1859
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Another:
F.H.
I assume from the "H" initials that these were Holdens...
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One of the two walled enclosures.
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Maybe half the gravestones were unmarked rocks, some
shaped like gravestones, others more like short pillars.
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Another unmarked stone...
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Many of the marked gravestones were for young children:
CORA A., daughter of F.G. & Susan Holden, Born April 20, 1886, Died June 6, 1887
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ZEB V., Son of F.G. & Susan Holden, Born July 4, 1888, Died Oct 14, 1889
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ELIJAH LITTLETON, Born July 1, 1856, Died Nov 17, 1885
Gone but not forgotten
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Another short-lived young girl.
Even sadder are the graves of her sisters in the next image...
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These graves as well as the one in the previous photo were all in a row
So tragic, all three stillborn...
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