In this tiny cemetery there are 13 marked graves and 6 unmarked graves for those buried within. Almost all of them hidden under a decade of undergrowth gone wild (the smilax is everywhere here!) but the 15 foot tall monuments are still visible even from the road.

Pictures from 2014 show the whole area clear cut and that’s how I remember seeing this cemetery for the first time. You could see straight across an agricultural field and look right at the Ponder family house from the cemetery. It was one of the first cemeteries I visited when I moved to nearby Athens and now I crane my neck to get a glimpse of it when we drive down the rural highway. I was finally able to stop, liberally apply some bug spray, put on my snake boots and wander around a bit.

This cemetery, and another ‘I spy’ favorite – the abandoned middle school down the way, have both been slowly eaten by time. While the school appears to be sinking into the ground the vibe here at Ponder Cemetery is that the ground is rising up to meet the top of the stones and then reaching onwards in hopes of grabbing that absolutely beautiful open sky…