The Mammoth Cave Railroad didn't wind through wilderness - once families, communities, and congregations called these hills home. An abandoned chimney, a foundation stone, or even a line of daffodils may mark an old homeplace. Among the most numerous reminders are the park's cemeteries - 77 cemeteries remain in the park, some frequently visited, others secluded and silent.
The cemeteries yield many clues about the lives of the people who dwelt there. The names of the people, of course, speak of kinship, and a stone on which the birth and death date are the same speaks of family tragedy, and the perils of childbearing in the early years of the 20th century.
Close by once stood the Locust Grove Methodist Episcopalian Church. Only its cemetery now remains. Its name may echo the religious traditions of the region's early settlers, when traveling preachers known as "circuit riders" would meet believers in outdoor groves for "brush arbor meetings" when no church was available.
Perhaps another tradition speaks like the voice of those who have lived here and gone: the pure white flower of the locust tree is said to represent affection - from beyond the grave.
Area congregations still use the thorny branches of the locust tree to make "crowns of thorns" for religious displays.
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