JCHA Updates:
Fall Meeting: The fall meeting of the Jackson County Historical Association will be held in the old part of Cedar Hill Cemetery on November 1 (All Saints’ Day), 2026 at 2:00 p.m. Grave dowser Wayne Gregg from Crossville will talk about the practice of grave dowsing and demonstrate how it is done. The cemetery is located at 210 Cedar Hill Drive in Scottsboro. Use one of the two main entrances and park along the cemetery access roads inside the cemetery.
Grave dowsing (also known as grave witching or divining) is a traditional folk practice where people use forked sticks, bent wire rods, or coat hangers to locate unmarked or hidden graves.
Practitioners typically use a Y-shaped twig or a pair of L-shaped metal wires (often fashioned from coat hangers), sometimes slipping the handles into cut drinking straws to reduce friction. The user holds the rods loosely and walks slowly across a field or cemetery. Proponents claim the rods cross or swing inward when the person steps over a buried body or casket, and uncross when they step away.
Some practitioners claim the rods can indicate the gender of the deceased (such as a clockwise vs. counterclockwise circle or rotation over the remains) or estimate the relative size and age of the person based on how long the rods stay crossed.
Mr. Gregg recently demonstrated this practice for Boaz Genealogy and is an experienced practitioner. The meeting is open to both members and non-members. Water and a basket of snack crackers will be provided. Bring a chair since no seating is available in the cemetery. If you have a part of the main cemetery you are interested in, write jcha@scottsboro.org. Plans are to examine the Virginia Brown and Henry Clay Bradford plots and a defined area on the north side with no apparent burials.
© The Jackson County Historical Association. All rights reserved. | Design by TEMPLATED.