In
a previous post, July of this year, I wrote about the Mordecai (anglizied as Mordica) family members buried at the Rocky Fork Primitive Baptist Church. This time around I am showing pictures of the original Mordecai homestead located north of Columbia off of the Old No. 7 road.
These pictures were taken this summer but I have just now gotten around to publishing the story. I visited the old home place with my mother, Virginia Perkins, who was born at home in the old house pictured below. The original homestead sits in a picturesque valley with the home sheltered by hills and ridges overlooking vast rich fields, and with the family cemetery perched overhead overlooking the valley on a high hill. It is overgrown, littered with junk cars and dilapidated out buildings, but still you can tell that at one time this was a handsome place. You can tell that the location was picked with care.
We were not able to gain access to the original house (cabin?) itself but were allowed to visit the cemetery and traveled back and forth from that location just north of where the building was located. The house as been modified and somewhat updated but has been abandoned for years. Yet, underneath the original structure is still there. I just learned that the owner of the property has died so we are going to try again to gain access to the old house, and go inside at least to take pictures. Somebody in the family should buy up this little piece of property which contains so much of the family history.
Here are some pictures of the cemetery as well as the corner markers. There are stones lying all over the place torn down, neglected, and lying in a field where cows graze.
Grave by a tree.
View from the top of the hill, roughly facing south, where the cemetery is located overlooking the fields where the Mordecai family farmed. The old house is to the east.
View facing the opposite direction from the above picture. Facing approximately north with the original house (cabin) to the right - on the east side.
One of the four original boundary, or corner, markers for the cemetery. Probably made of cast iron. This particular marker is in the north -west corner of the cemetery.
Here is another view from much further back at approximately where the south-west boundary marker (which is now missing or covered up) was placed.
Anonymous grave marker. Maybe there was never a name on this marker but time has certainly reduced it. There is a slight chance it is a foot marker but that is highly unlikely.
Typical marker. There are probably many more like this one which are now covered up and hidden from view.
Yet another stone knocked down.
Here is one of the boundary markers on the east side which has been broken off at the base.
This picture is out of sequence since it was taken on the way up to the cemetery walking in a westerly direction up the hill. It is included here since it offers a different view of the old house.
This is the house my mom and most of her brothers and sisters were born in. This was picture was taken coming down off the cemetery hill walking in an easterly direction.
Another view of the house.
Yet another view of the house showing more of the surrounding area. Facing approximately west with the hill where the cemetery is located obscured from the low angle view from where the picture was taken facing east.
The Mordecai family has been in this area for over 150 years. This old homestead and what else remains of the family legacy should be preserved. As of this writing the fate of the old building is unknown and it have already been torn down.
