Rock Hill Cemetery has served this area since the late 1800s. It is located on land granted to pioneer Alexander J. Clayton, who migrated here from Alabama with his wife, Martha (Carver), and his children in 1854. Clayton, who was born in North Carolina, was a farmer and leader in the Rock Hill community, which developed around the Rock Hill Baptist Church. Residents of Rock Hill, and the nearby settlements of Martin Springs and Pine Hill, were the first to use this cemetery. The earliest recorded interment here, of Juno Martin, a young daughter of settlers Robert James and Lenora (Taylor) Martin, dates to 1885.
In 1900, one of Alexander Clayton's sons, Rufus, sold property he inherited, including two acres set aside for burials, to his brother Columbus, formally establishing the cemetery. Rufus and Columbus were farmers and school district trustees. Others buried here include farmers, early area settlers, community leaders and veterans of military conflicts.
Features in the cemetery include curbing, an enclosed wall of sandstone surrounding a grave, vertical stones and woodmen of the world markers. Through the years, need for additional land arose; various individuals graciously contributed property to the cemetery in 1979 and 1984. In 1982, relatives of those interred here established the Rock Hill Cemetery Association to maintain the burial ground. Today, Rock Hill Cemetery continues to serve the area and remains as a testament to the early Henderson County pioneer and residents of the Rock Hill, Martin Springs and Pine Hill communities.
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