Editor’s Note: Western North Carolina is rich with untold stories—many resting quietly in local cemeteries. In this Tombstone Tales series, we explore the lives of people from our region’s past whose legacies, whether widely known or nearly forgotten, helped shape the place we call home.
HAYWOOD COUNTY, N.C. — Scattered across cemeteries in Western North Carolina are headstones unlike the polished granite slabs most visitors expect to see. Built from concrete with river stones, glass or tile, these handmade markers reflect a period when families created their own memorials using whatever materials were close at hand.
One such marker, belonging to Thomas Cane Goodson, stands in Bethel Community Cemetery in Canton. The marker design mirrors another handmade grave that was featured in October in Waynesville’s Green Hill Cemetery. While created by different families, both markers reflect a shared mountain tradition of folk memorials shaped by necessity, skill and devotion…