Historical marker at the intersection of Hi Way 18 and Caldwell Rd. south of Jackson, Tennessee
Cemetery is on Blairs Chapel Rd off Steam Mill Ferry Rd. in Southeast Madison County. Blairs Chapel Rd. is a dead end gravel road and very desolate. Not recommended to go there at night.
Cemetery "entrance". The churh has long since been relocated, though the cemetery does still see very limited use. There are no fences, so any of it is accessible by foot.
Only a simple wood cross marks this gravesite in a more hidden area of the cemetery.
The cemetery actually comprises two hills. Sonny Boy's grave is atop the hill in the distance. At this vantage point, I am looking back at the road which brought me to the cemetery entrance. In actuality, there is no true "entrance" as any of it can be accessed as there are no fences. The area has vast areas of kudzu vine growth, though at this time of year they were not "in bloom".
Another view of the "second hill" of the cemetery.
These photos were taken in early Spring. It would, hopefully, be a little more "inviting" looking area in Summer.
Artistry can be found most anywhere if you look for it.
Words of hope found on a broken tombstone along the grounds atop the "second hill".
Getting near. Sonny Boy's marker is in the distance.
Here we are. The final resting place of a legend of his time, and of all time to those who appreciate true blues music of the heart.
Amazingly, these harmonicas and coins are not stolen, sadly due likely more to the remote desolation of the area rather than respect.
Sonny Boy is by no means unknown to some of the most famous artists of today. Some of these harmonicas were placed there by Robert Plant and Eric Clapton. A local radio station talk show host lives near the area and has brought some famous people to see this gravesite. Stand here and you are near legends old and new.
You can almost hear the licks from these instruments as they hover ghost like over the inscription of the great Sonny Boy Williamson. RIP