The Paris Cemetery
The
historic Paris Cemetery is designated a Kentucky Landmark. The gatehouse was
designed by architect John McMurty and completed circa 1862. When the cemetery
was established in 1847, many families moved their deceased from older
cemeteries and family cemeteries to the new Paris Cemetery. The oldest stone
identified shows the 1807 death of Elisha Ford.
Monuments to honor the county’s fallen soldiers include the Confederate Monument, the Mexican War Memorial, and a stately granite monument just inside the front gates for those who perished in World War II, Korea, and Viet Nam.
One of the more famous people interred at Paris Cemetery is John Fox, Jr., author of Trail of the Lonesome Pine, which was the first book in American literature to sell more than a million copies. The original manuscript of Mr. Fox’s Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come can be seen at the John Fox Jr. Genealogical Library at Duncan Tavern in Paris.
The Paris Cemetery is full of interesting graves and stories to go with them. A brochure of a walking tour of the beautifully-landscaped cemetery is available in the cemetery office or at the Paris/Bourbon County Chamber of Commerce.
The Cemetery phone number is 859-987-4078.