The Dils Cemetery is located at the mouth of Chloe Creek and the By-Pass Road in Pikeville, Kentucky. The property was purchased in 1871 by Col. John Dils, Jr. as part of a larger tract that ran several miles up Chloe Creek. Later, Col. Dils sold the property, excluding the cemetery from the deed. The property, previously owned by the Syck family, already contained the graves of this family. Col. Dils set aside a space on the top of the knoll for his own family to be buried, and then, with his and his descendants’ permission, allowed other persons to be buried there.
The Dils Cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Hatfield-McCoy Feud Historic District. Buried in the cemetery are: Randolph McCoy, the head of the McCoy clan; his wife, Sarah; their daughter, Roseanna (who ran away with Johnse Hatfield); their son, Sam and his wife, Martha.
Dils Cemetery Map
Click to download Dils Cemetery Map
The cemetery is the first known cemetery in Eastern Kentucky to be integrated. Col. Dils allowed his freed slaves to be buried there, and their descendants are also buried in the cemetery.
Among well-known persons in the history of Pike County are the graves of:
- Col. John Dils, Jr., the leader of the Union’s 39th Kentucky Infantry
- Lewis Dils, Pikeville’s first postmaster
- Frank Waller, a black man who migrated to Pike County after the Civil War, who was Stonewall Jackson’s aide and served Gen. Jackson’s last meal to him.
Soldiers from: - French and Indian War – James Ratliff, who was the first owner of the property, which was part of a large grant given to him for service in the French and Indian War.
- Revolutionary War – Joseph Ford, a native of Pennsylvania who served in the Revolutionary War while living in North Carolina.
- Civil War – George Wolford, Sam Robinson, E. H. Brooks, John Johnson, Samuel Thompson, Capt. Harrison Ford, Sgt. Solomon Johnson, George W. Syck
- Spanish-American War – Wilson W. Robinson, Alex Johnson
- World War I – Isaac Earl Brooks, Lorenzo Stevens, Thomas J. Mullins, Alex Young
- Wife of Tobias J. Kendrick, principal of Pikeville Collegiate Institute in the 1890s and who, in 1912, organized Pikeville High School.
- Mary Dils, the first woman in Pike County to graduate from college.
The cemetery is open year-round. You may park at the end of the lot by the Pikeville Fire Dept. at the intersection of Chloe Rd. and the By-Pass, take the steps to Chloe Rd., cross the road, and climb the steps to the cemetery. Call the Pikeville-Pike County, KY Welcome Center at 606-432-5063 or call toll-free at 1-800-844-7453.
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