Mysterious Ten Cemetery
This historic burial site is the final resting place for many poor and working class residents who lived in the Knoxville neighborhood once known as The Bottom. The Sisters of the Mysterious Ten were the women's auxiliary of The United Brotherhood of Friendship, a fraternal organization founded before the US Civil War by enslaved and Free African Americans. After Emancipation, this fraternal entity would see robust expansion and membership totaling in the tens of thousands. The Sisters of the Mysterious Ten provided philanthropic and charity support for Black families post-Reconstruction that included burial assistance for it's members.
Those At Rest
The stories contained in the cemetery include that of Reverend Shepherd J. Jordan, who assumed pastoral duties at Oakland's Foster Chapel in 1935. There, he oversaw the installation of a new brick edifice around the wooden frame church. There's also Mr. Patrick Henry Venable, a Virginia-born brick mason that was reportedly the first member of the Bricklayers Union. He arrived in Knox County in 1885 and contributed his hands to an unknown number of buildings in the area during his 40 year career.
Most of those interned here, perhaps over a hundred, are buried in unmarked graves.
Restoration
In 2025, community members partnered with non-profit organization, Black in Appalachia: Research, Education & Support to begin the process of clearing the brush, removing the dead & downed trees, researching those buried & the resetting of the fallen tombstones.
What began as a small volunteer project, eventually gained real momentum through the funding support of
Tennessee America 250
Donate & Support
Donations can be sent to:
Mysterious Ten Cemetery Fund
PO Box 37
Whitesburg, TN 37891