TUSCUMBIA, Alabama – On a ridge in the Freedom Hills of Northwest Alabama, one may visit the graves of more than 300 coon hounds, all tried and true. On Labor Day, the quietness is broken when people gather for the annual Coon Dog Cemetery Labor Day Celebration. They come for a good time and to pay tribute to the dogs and to those who loved them, especially the cemetery’s founder, Key Underwood, and the first dog buried there.
This year’s event is set for Monday, Sept. 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
It was on Labor Day 1937 that Underwood lost his beloved canine hunting companion, Troop. Remembering the special place where he had gathered with friends and other dogs to enjoy the nighttime sport and its camaraderie, Underwood decided it was the perfect place to lay Troop to rest.
After the dog’s burial, Underwood chiseled its name and the date on a sandstone chimney rock. Today, this grave and its marker remain as a tribute to one man’s love of his dog. Surrounded now by others (many with colorful epitaphs) and with two memorial monuments depicting treeing coonhounds, the site rivals human cemeteries in history and in love. The Coon Dog Memorial Cemetery is the only one of its kind in the world.
The celebration is free; sales of merchandise benefit the Friends of the Coon Dog Cemetery’s fund for the preservation of the site, which is part of the Freedom Hills Wildlife Management area, protected by the State of Alabama.
The coon dog cemetery is located at 4945 Coon Dog Cemetery Road in Cherokee, Alabama, a little more than two hours’ drive from Columbus. For For more information, visit coondogcemetery.com, call 256-412-5970 or email [email protected]. Follow on the Friends on Facebook.
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