Veteran Cemetery Search Back On

The search for a location for the Upper Cumberland State Veterans Cemetery has resumed after a land deal in fell apart.

Paul Overholser is the Strategic Development Director for the Tennessee Department of Veterans Services. The department had originally selected 93-acres adjacent to I-40 in Cumberland County for the cemetery.

“We had an initial verbal agreement with the property owner,” Overholser said. “When we went into the next phase, I believe the price changed on the property from what was originally prooffered.”

Overholser said the search throughout the Upper Cumberland will begin again after the state reopens from the COVID-19 lock down.

“It think it would be fair to say we will look wherever we can find suitable land that has good access to it, whether it be in Cumberland County or somewhere else in the region,” Overholser said.

Although there is not a fixed amount of acreage the state is looking for, Overholser said they need a certain amount of space for the future.

“I do know we probably need 80 acres at least,” Overholser said. “That’s for the initial cemetery, and because these are around for time before they get filled up, so being able to expand even beyond the original acreage is something we look at when we go in to purchase land.”

Overholser said finding land in the Upper Cumberland helps fulfill goals at both the state and federal level.

“It is part of the strategic goal of not just the Veterans Services Department but also the national VA,” Overholser said. “They want a cemetery within 75 miles of all citizens. I think once we find one in the Upper Cumberland, that will accomplish that goal for the state and for the federal cemetery program.”