Oak Hill Cemetery To Hold Dedication June 13

By Heather Provencher
Published: May 28, 2009

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Five years ago Oak Hill Cemetery, in the heart of Johnson City, stood neglected.

Home to such notable Johnson City historical figures as Henry Johnson, founder of the town, and others, Oak Hill is the oldest cemetery in town. And, it was being vandalized and downtrodden.

That is, until the Oak Hill Cemetery Friends and Volunteers decided to do something about it.

Five years ago, the group of friends, who have family buried at the cemetery, got together to clean up Oak Hill. “When we started in 2005,” said Friends and Volunteers member Barbara Thomas, “there were actually people living in the cemetery. It was in terrible shape.”

Since then, they’ve been through three different owners and a host of clean-up projects.

Along the way, they lost two of the men who helped their efforts the most. Samuel McKinney, former owner, and Chester Willis, died last year. On June 13 the Friends and Volunteers will hold a dedication ceremony in which they will dedicate a special bench to the two men. The dedication ceremony will take place at 11 a.m.

“Chester spent the last four years of his life, every day, helping clean up the cemetery,” said Thomas.

Now, Tim McKinney owns the cemetery and Thomas said he’s been a great help in continuing the efforts to improve and clean up Oak Hill.

Also on June 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the second annual Decoration Day for Oak Hill Cemetery is being held.