The historic Copperhill cemetery has been added to the National Register of Historic Places as a boundary increase of the Copperhill Historic District, which was added to the National Register in 1992.

Barbara Beaver, who has been working to get the cemetery cleaned up and maintained, worked with Paul Archambault of the Southeast Tennessee Development District on the nomination, which was approved by the Tennessee Historical Commission earlier this year. The National Register of Historic Places is the nation's official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation.

The 7.93-acre cemetery contains burials dating from 1895 to 1998. Most of the burials are concentrated in the 2.5 acres situated on the crest of the hill. It is seen as an important part of the history of the community of Copperhill and the mining industry in the region. The nomination application noted that the cemetery is significant for its relationship to the copper industry and its association with the First United Methodist Church and residential dwellings included in the Copperhill Historic District. It serves as a physical reminder of the establishment of Copperhill and the late stage of mining development in the Copper Basin.

The nomination form provides information about the community, the church and the cemetery:

The various grave markers represent the community's growth and change from the late 19th century into the early to mid-20th century. Affiliations with mining, Masonic and other organizations, and child mortality are all represented with the styles of grave markers that are present in the cemetery.

In 1889, the First United Methodist Church was organized in Herbert T. McCay's home. That same year he donated a 100 x 100 lot on the corner of Riverview Street and Highland Street to construct a church for the congregation. A year later the congregation worshiped at a commissary owned by Herbert's son, D.C. McCay. He later moved his store and gave the building to the First United Methodist Church to hold services. The building was also used by Polk County as a public school.

In 1892-1893, a new church building was erected on the site that was donated by Herbert McCay. Unfortunately, the building burned in the Copperhill fires of 1910. A year later, a new, brick late Gothic Revival church was built on the same location and used until 1977.

Herbert T. McCay and family were great contributors to the city of Copperhill and the First United Methodist Church. He was the leading merchant in McCays in the late 19th century and owned most of the property in the town that would later become Copperhill in the early 1900s.

Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church, later associated with the First United Methodist Church, purchased a 7.93-acre lot in 1873. The scenic property was purchased with the intent of building a church and parsonage. However, no church construction ever occurred on the lot, and for over twenty years, it remained empty. The property began its function as a cemetery in 1895 when Ada Harrison, the one-and-one-half year old daughter of J.S. and M.J. Harrison, died and was buried at the cemetery.

Smelter Hill and Newtown experienced devastating fires in 1910, completely destroying all of its structures. The burned buildings included the Methodist Church, which was rebuilt at the same location in 1911. Copperhill, in 1913, became the first town in the Copper Basin to be officially incorporated as a city and experienced a second wave of residential dwellings constructed in the 1920s. Many Craftsman Bungalow and Colonial Revival domiciles were built along the steep terrain, not so much for the mine workers but for the people who were indirectly involved with the copper and sulfuric acid industries. Teachers, doctors, and store owners found their niche in the evolving community. The booming town included approximately 50 stores in the mid-1920s.

The Copperhill Cemetery was primarily used from 1895-1941 and includes approximately 295 known burials. Families/individuals associated with the First United Methodist Church and community members involved with the copper and sulfuric acid industry, either directly or indirectly, were buried at this site. The grave markers vary from elaborate obelisk headstones to fieldstones, representing the diverse socioeconomics of Copperhill in late 19th century and early to mid-20th centuries.

The more prominent families, like the McCay's, Barclays, and the Vellenoweth's, had decorative headstones and family plots lined with rectangular concrete walls on the crest of the cemetery hill. Families or individuals who were poor had their graves marked with fieldstones or bricks, which were scattered along the perimeter of the cemetery. Approximately 65 burials took place at the cemetery from 1904-1909. Some of these deaths may have been directly attributed to the pollution from the copper smelting and acid plants that were constructed in the early 1900s. The harmful effects of sulfur dioxide that was produced from the roasting of copper ore resulted in two landmark pollution court cases that occurred in 1904 and 1906. The effects of these two conservation law cases led to the reduction of the copper company's emissions of noxious gases.

Even though there was a high rate of infant mortality nationwide at the time, 45 children under 7-years old died during this period in Copperhill. Most deaths resulted from industrial pollution or from an epidemic. Of those 45 children, a large majority were less than 2- years old. During this same period, approximately 20 adults were buried at the cemetery, including Reverend J.J. Vellenoweth (1869-1908), pastor at the First United Methodist Church and Herbert McCay (1838-1904).

The cemetery continued to be used by the First United Methodist Church regularly until 1953. Since that year, only a few burials have taken place at the Copperhill Cemetery. The decline in usage was first related to the decline in the mining industry circa 1940, as many families began to leave once jobs became scarce. Second, the First United Methodist Church moved to a new facility in the 1970s, and third, the church ceased burials at the cemetery. The last person to be buried at the Copperhill Cemetery was Walter T. Elrod, Jr. in 1998. Over the last 30 years, the cemetery has experienced neglect, deterioration, and erosion. Many headstones have been damaged or washed away due to the erosion of the hillside.

The graves at the Copperhill Cemetery serve as silent, physical reminders of the community that once focused its religious and economic activity in the Copper Basin. There are approximately 295 known burials at the Copperhill Cemetery. The number of unmarked graves is unknown because of years of erosion and heavy vegetation down the sloping hillside beyond the gravel road. The existing markers provide a representative variety of traditional gravestones and non-traditional markers, spanning the cemetery's period of significance (1895-1941).

 The earliest of gravestones, beginning with 1895, appear to be typical hand carved limestone and marble slabs. Stones dating through the late  19th century and early 20th century reflect a variety of typical shapes and motifs of that period. Both slab stones and obelisks are common. Various symbolic motifs can be found carved on gravestones throughout the cemetery, including floral, Masonic, Woodsmen of the World, American Legion, Eastern Star, and lamb symbols.

There are numerous non-traditional markers reflecting both economic poverty and simple utilitarianism of the region. These include handmade markers of concrete, fieldstone, and brick. Many gravestones throughout the cemetery reflect upon infant and child mortality as some are adorned with lambs. In some places there are fieldstones that appear to be grave markers. Generally, the more traditional markers and prominent family lots are located on the crest of the hill and lined with concrete rectangular-shaped boxes.

The cemetery is currently undergoing cleanup and restoration, with gravestones and markers discovered from time to time.  Erosion and wild vegetation continue to be threats. In addition, vandalism to the gravestones is unfortunately a common occurrence due to the neglect the cemetery has received over the last quarter century. Volunteer labor has improved the appearance of the cemetery significantly over the last year. The recently established Copperhill Cemetery Preservation Committee is working with the Southeast Tennessee Development District to guide them with preservation grant funding and restoration guidelines that follow the Secretary of the Interior Standards for Rehabilitation.