Riverview Cemetery

Mission

Our mission is to greet and serve all families with the utmost care and respect realizing the importance of each and every visit to our cemetery.  We provide an affordable, well maintained final resting place where family, friends, and the community can feel at peace with their loved ones and their thoughts.  We also enjoy discussing our rich history and notable interments, and we welcome the community to explore our grounds and ask questions

History

Located in Clarksville, Tennessee in Montgomery County, the cemetery has existed since February 23, 1800 when Clarksville was no more than a village, on land donated by Valentine Sevier who was the first recorded interment.

The city’s only cemetery, the Riverview, is considered the oldest known public burial grounds in the area, and is still an active cemetery to this day. 

In the early years, for the cemetery to be laid out on a hillside had its practicality.  To travel up or down the Cumberland River to a more level spot would have been placing the funeral party in danger of hostile Indian attacks.  Holding the high ground was a most desirable advantage.

It is rich with history, and has the remains of early pioneers, settlers, civic leaders, and statesmen of this areas historical and cultural heritage buried there.  Men and women of all the American wars are interred at the Riverview, including four Revolutionary War veterans, and one mass grave containing the reinterred remains of over 125 Confederate soldiers.

Adopting the Name

In the early historical writings and documents the cemetery was referred to as the city cemetery. The feelings of the citizenry and public officials at that time were that it sounded too much like pauper burial grounds. After many suggestions as to a proper name for the cemetery the city officials, along with the citizenry adopted the name Riverview Cemetery on June 7, 1929. The name was appropriate because it overlooks the beautiful Cumberland River as it winds its way to the Ohio River.