By John Carney (Republished from a 2011 article)
Photo Credits: Kent Wilcox
The Hooker-Moore cemetery is a short hike from the Hooker Falls Access Area and is one of the more interesting historical sites within the Forest. Earlier known as the Moore Cemetery or possibly later, the Laurel Creek Church Cemetery, it served the members of the Laurel Creek Baptist Church. The exact dates and original ownership of the property are unknown but it may have started as a private burial site. The church no longer exists and the location is under water within the boundaries of Cascade Lake. No records have been found and the only information about the church comes from the memories of a few individuals who attended a school the church once operated.
There are supposedly 65 graves within the cemetery based on research conducted many years ago. Only a few gravestones are legible and the oldest date in 1859 on the grave of Mary Ann Ashworth.
Clinton Moore and his wife Sallie, one of the early owners of the property are buried at the site. The Moores built the forest grist mill at what is now known as Hooker Falls. The property was later purchased by members of the Hooker family who continued to operate a mill at that location. There are no marked gravestones for any members of the Hooker family and it is presumed that the attachment of the Hooker name came about by association similar to Hooker Falls. It is entirely possible that one or more members of the Hooker family may be interred in one of the mystery gravesites.
There are newer gravestones for the members of the Isaac Heath family. They were placed in the late 1970s or early 1980s by Alton Taylor, a descendant of Isaac heth and the former pastor of the Rocky Hill Baptist Church in Cedar Mountain. The Heath family lore indicates that Isaac Heath buried four of his children in the cemetery in the winter of 1861. He did this alone as the children died of diptheria and he did not want to put others at risk. According to the family lore, Heath requested to be buried with his children. There is a large unmarked gravestone next to those of his children that is believed to be Heath’s.
In the central area of the cemetery there is a gravestone for Union soldier, J. L. Sentell. James Lewis Sentell enlisted in the Union Army in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was in Company F, of the 2nd North Carolina Mounted Infantry. He was killed by Confederate soldiers in may 1864 on South Hominy near the Pisgah Methodist Church. He was traveling with a cousin, John Edward Sentelle, and a friend, Daniel Gilbert. The bodies of the three were placed in a shallow grave at the site by local residents. The bodies of the two Sentelles were recovered shortly after the incident and reburied by family members. While John Sentelle was buried in a family plot, James was buried at the Hooker Moore Cemetery. The remains were transported by wagon and were covered with wet moss and leaves to keep them cool during the trip. According to members of his family, James was not buried in the cemetery but was interred somewhere in the area in front. No reason has been specified but there may have been a problem burying a Union soldier within the cemetery boundaries. The grave market was moved to the central area of the cemetery sometime in the past and the exact burial location is not known.
