NEAR THE historic Cumberland Tunnel, Jackson Cemetery has served the Cowan community for over a century. For four generations, the Bohannan and Gass families have maintained this small rural cemetery, preserving its grounds and honoring the history of those buried there. Their long-standing involvement began with their great-grandparents and has continued through each generation, with commitment and respect for the families who visit.
The family’s connection to the cemetery began with a simple act of care. According to stories passed down through their grandmother, Velma Gass, their great-grandparents, Jim and Mayetta Bohannan, lived on Morris Hill when a neighboring woman, Miss Matt Jackson, fell ill. The Bohannans took her into their home, and Velma, along with her husband and children, also lived in the home on Morris Hill.
Later, Velma and her husband, Lemuel, purchased property from Miss Jackson near the Cumberland Tunnel and built a home for their family. Around that same time, Jim Bohannan hauled logs down an old mountain road by mule and wagon, gathering the materials needed to construct the log cabin that still stands today, affectionately known as “Papa’s house.” Once completed, Jim, Mayetta, and Miss Jackson moved to the homeplace together.
When Miss Jackson passed away, she left a portion of her land to the community as a free burial ground. What began as a generous gesture has since grown into Jackson Cemetery, now home to nearly one hundred resting places. Veterans, neighbors, and multiple generations of local families are laid to rest there, including many members of the Bohannan and Gass families.
The tradition of tending the cemetery spans four generations, beginning with great-grandfather Jim and continuing through Sam Gass. After Sam’s passing in 2007, his daughter, Mandy Mooney, and her husband, Tom, assumed the responsibility.
“Tending the cemetery is something our family has always valued,” Mandy explained. “After mowing and trimming, it’s meaningful to look back and know the space is peaceful for anyone visiting their loved ones.”
Maintaining the cemetery has required both dedication and persistence. Over the years, the family has cleared litter left behind by careless visitors, replaced damaged and stolen fence posts, and repaired headstones vandalized by gunfire. For the Mooney family, the work honors those who rest there and ensures the cemetery remains a dignified place for the community.
Mandy’s personal motivation is rooted in the memory of her father. He cared for the cemetery faithfully until his unexpected passing, and allowing the grounds to become overgrown felt unthinkable.
“He put so much effort into keeping it beautiful,” she said. “Continuing that work felt like the right way to honor him.”
When she and Tom married in 2012, he quickly embraced the family tradition. He has often maintained the grounds on his own, motivated by respect for her parents. Today, the couple mows and trims every two weeks during the summer, preserving the cemetery’s appearance with the same care Sam once did.
The cemetery is only one part of a larger landscape woven into their family’s identity. She grew up along the gravel road near her homeplace, where the mountains were both a playground and a teacher. Some of her most vivid memories come from walking the woods with her father. She remembers placing her feet carefully into his footprints to avoid snakes.
Childhood for Mandy also centered around Granny’s house. She babysat all the cousins, creating a world of bike riding, rolling down steep hills, and exploring outdoors once the dew dried. Holidays were marked by tradition as well. At Halloween, family members lined the trail to the cabin with glowing pumpkins while aunts cooked chili over the fire and the men played horseshoes. These gatherings strengthened the family’s connection to the land and to one another.
After her father passed away, she and her daughter moved into the old homeplace beside her grandmother’s house, allowing them precious time together before her grandmother died. Years later, her sister and niece moved into the homeplace, keeping the heart of the family close.
“There’s a kind of peace in those mountains that I’ve never found anywhere else,” she said. “When snow falls, everything becomes still. I used to step onto the porch at night just to take it in. It felt like time slowed down.”
“My Grandmother Velma used to tell us there was no such thing as resting. She’d laugh about how Great-grandmother Mayetta would say, ‘Go hoe the garden while you rest,’ and that was right after they’d come in from working the fields. Some ‘rest,’ right?” Mandy laughed.
Surrounded by a family of hard workers, Mandy recalled her father spending hours busting rocks in the yard, determined to make their home look its best. That same ethic of diligence and pride carries forward in the way she and Tom care for the cemetery today.
Although Jackson Cemetery holds many members of her own family, people across the Cowan community come there to remember loved ones.
“If families find peace there, even briefly, then every hour spent maintaining it is worthwhile,” she said.
When she thinks about the future, her hope is clear: that her family will be remembered not only for tending the land but for honoring the history within it.
“Jackson Cemetery is more than a burial ground,” she said. “It’s a symbol of our community’s past — a place where stories converge. As long as we’re able, we’ll continue preserving it.” GN
