LittleTennessee
Private
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2014
- Location
- Georgia
Private James F. Berryhill
August 6, 1838 - May 6, 1864
13th Tennessee Infantry, Co. H
Grave site located in Tollgate Cemetery at the corner of Germantown Parkway and Highway 64
Memphis, TN.
Tollgate Cemetery is a small, abandoned cemetery. Many Berryhill's (a prominent Memphis family) are located here. Many other Memphis residents, such as a wealthy black farmer named Washington Canada, share this final resting spot. In 1851, what is now known as Highway 64 (Old Stage Coach Road) was commissioned to be a wood plank road. It ran through Memphis (Shelby County) towards the Fayette County line. The hope was to provide a smoother journey for travelers, but at a cost. 3 tollgates were then built to collect payments for the roads use. 35 cents for wagons and buggies, 10 cents for horseback. A tollgate was built by the train tracks in what is now the town of Bartlett(Union Depot), one was placed on 'Old Stage Coach Road' itself, and another on the corner of present day Germantown Parkway, where Tollgate Cemetery is now located. In 1856, the Union Depot tollgate, in present day Bartlett, had already closed due to residents avoiding the use of the wooden road because of it's cost. Soon after, the tollgate on Old Stage Coach Road closed as well, leaving only one toll. By 1861, the project had been abandoned and the road was converted back to dirt. In honor of the families who manned this final tollgate, a cemetery was created in their honor. This cemetery is open to the public. The only fencing is what is left of the fence that surrounded the prominent white families to keep them separated from the freed slaves buried around it. James F. Berryhill is located here along with the rest of his family. His original memorial suffered normal wear and tear from the elements and sometime in the past decade, donations from a local group made it possible to provide him a better resting place.