It was a good thing that some soulless thug stole the gate to the Jerkins grave 25 years ago, because if they hadn’t, I’d still be trying to figure out a subject for a history column this week.
Earlier in the week I covered the return of an elaborate gate that hung on an ornate fence surrounding the grave plot of the Jerkins family. Some guy bought it for $350 at an auction, found out it had been stolen from Cedar Grove years and kindly sold it back for a 100% profit at $700. It was very generous of him.
The family plot was that of Alonzo T. Jerkins, who died in 1895 at the age of 87 an age that was frequently commented upon and that held the community in awe. It is just to the right of the Confederate Memorial.