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The following cemetery list was sent in by Jim Shotts, Joyce Tucker, Bobbie Waters and Bonnie Evans. This cemetery was recorded by McRae Limerick in March 1985. It was also recorded by Bonnie Evans on Jul 15, 2003. Printed with permission of Mr. M. Limerick and Bonnie Evans.
This cemetery is very difficult to find unless one already knows how: located in T10N, R16E, S19 of Kemper County, it can be reached from either Hwy 39 or Hwy 16. From DeKalb, on Hwy 39, go about 3 1/2 miles south of the city limits and turn right onto New Hope/Old Mt. Nebo Road. Go about 2 1/2 miles (the road has made a sharp turn to the right about mid-way) and you will see the sign indicating a dead end straight ahead and that New Hope continues by turning left. Directly across the road from New Hope a trail may or may not be visible, depending on recent mowing, but it is there. Do NOT go down this trail in wet weather unless you have a 4-wheel drive vehicle! If the weather has been dry, it is more easily accessible than it appears, with some gravel having been strewn along it. Go 1/4 mile down the trail and it ends at the cemetery.
From Hwy 16 west of DeKalb, take Sport Watkins Rd. (which is 3/4 mile west of Hwy 397) which will run 1.6 miles and dead-end onto Old Jackson Rd. Turn right onto Old Jackson and go about 1 mile, then turn left onto New Hope Rd. This portion of New Hope will dead-end into another road, which, by turning left, becomes New Hope again. When this part dead ends at about 1 1/4 mile, you will be looking across the street at the trail as described above.
The cemetery is surrounded by a beautiful, though badly rusted, old iron fence that has been shored up with rough wood posts all around. The cemetery is very clean though in very bad need of mowing, both inside the fence and out. I have seen this cemetery name spelled a number of ways, but a handmade wooden sign on the fence spells it “Pauticfau” and I hear it locally pronounced “PaTIGfa.” It is quite a historic place, the earliest birthdate on a legible tombstone being 1796 and the earliest burial date being little John B. White in 1845. The cemetery remained in current use at least through 1987.
3 large native stones rest near or against the fence at the far end of the cemetery near the White family’s graves (Eliza, Margaret, Dorset, Ann, & John B., and John W. & Louise W. Evans), the largest of which may perhaps have been engraved at one time. There are possibly as many as 26 other graves marked only with native stones, unmarked concrete or other slabs, or peculiar, heavy, rusted iron frames which could have once held wooden markers, and, of course, probably others completely unmarked.
Also known as Pawticfaw Baptist Cemetery
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