Smokey Ridge Cemetery (Fullerton) - Vernon Parish Louisiana Submitted by Jane P. McManus ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Smokey Ridge Cemetery is located in Kisatchie National Forest near Fullerton, LA. From LA Hwy. 10 in Cravens, turn North on LA Hwy. 399. Go approximately 2.0 miles and turn left onto gravel road. Continue for 2.5 miles to an unimproved road (used by hunters & Forestry personnel), and turn right. This trail is impassable after a rain, except by heavy-duty vehicle. After following the path for approximately 2.0 miles, we reached the cemetery on top of a small hill on the right side of the road. There were many paths converging into this trail, and without a guide, the small abandoned graveyard would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to locate. We are extremely grateful for the assistance and guidance of Joe McKee, a lifetime resident of the area, who led Dollie Mayo and I through the forest to the graveyard, and provided a brief history of the area. According to Mr. McKee, this area once housed a thriving community for Mexican families in the early days of 1900's when Fullerton was a large sawmill center. Originally the cemetery was quite large with burials scattered over the small hill, but today all that remains is part of an old wire fence that surrounds a small area on top of the hill, with four visible graves. There were many depressions scattered inside the fenced area as well as over the hillside, but with the thick carpet of pine needles, fallen limbs and briars, there was no way to accurately count them. Inside the area under fence, there was one burial that had been dug into by vandals. Tombstone inscriptions were recorded by Jane P. McManus, 10 January 1995, and submitted 5 February 2000 (jane_mcmanus@yahoo.com). Dickerson, Infant daughter of L. H. & A. E. Dickerson - Stillborn 17 Oct 1910 [under briars & brush in corner] Hutchinson, Henri, infant daughter [sic] of J. L. & Anna B. Hutchinson - 21 Aug 1910/2 Aug 1911 [opposite corner under brush] [vandalized burial in 3rd corner with footstone only - no information] Gohn, William D. - 1861/1912