Much of the history of Mountain Home has been lost. We know the cemetery was started by the church at Chestnut Grove shortly after it was founded in 1861. We also know that the cemetery and the church were not located on the same property. As for the lost information, some losses were to fire, some to tornados, and others to a simple failure to pass information from one generation to the next. The History Program is hoped to aid in filling in much of the rich history of this place, the people who were the pioneer settlers of this area in Northern DeKalb County, and to answer many questions about the past as well as our future.
For those with deep family roots here, being an Heir of Mountain Home is not only a birthright but also a responsibility.
Additionally, this program in its early days helped us identify over a dozen Veterans buried in the cemetery that do not have Department of Defense markers. These newly found Veterans have been added to our list of Veterans. We believe this program will help us identify other Veterans buried at Mountain Home so we can add them to our list and include them as part of special recognition during the Annual Veterans Tribute Event.
What is involved in this program?
Research of public records, old newspaper archives, old U.S. Census reports, and other genealogy resources, including but not limited to old family records, to fill in the blanks and allow a more complete history to be compiled and made available to everyone. It also includes information, stories, documents, photographs and other items that family members may contribute use of in the compilation of the history of this most special place and those that chose to be laid to rest here.
Who is involved?
Anyone in the community can choose to work on this effort.
Where will the work be conducted?
Some documenting work will be conducted at Mountain Home, some at the county office of Probate, some through gathering documents from families that have been passed down over the past 150+ years, and from news and genealogy resources available on the internet.
Why did we start this program?
These activities are at the core of the Corporation’s mission as history is required to understand the present and possibly the future. By gathering as much of its history as is possible, much can be learned about not only the people but where they came from, How and why they came together to build the community, the church, and this place at Mountain Home.
By compiling the history and making it widely available to everyone that wishes to have it, it is possible that others will become more interested in the mission of the Heirs of Mountain Home, and contribute to the efforts of caring for Mountain Home now and in the future.
This increased interest may be the path forward to ensuring the long-term survival of not only the history but of the care and maintenance of this place. This place that held a spiritual and tangible importance for the founding generations, and their descendants, that is worthy to be cared for with honor and respect until the Lord God Almighty returns to take his church home.