St. John's Episcopal Church (Columbia, Tennessee)

Among Maury County's most cherished sites is St. John's Episcopal Church, located in the Ashwood Community on Mt. Pleasant Pike south of Columbia. The church was founded by the Polk family in the 1840s as a more or less private sanctuary. Col. William Polk, a resident of Mecklenburg County, N.C. , was the owner of convert|5000|acre|km2 of land in Maury County, Tennessee. He deeded this land to four of his sons: Leonidas, Rufus, Lucius and George. The Episcopalian Church was not widely established in Maury County and the Polks, strong adherents to that faith, decided to provide their own place of worship. Leonidas, one of the brothers and also an Episcopalian minister, convinced his brothers to build a building at the point where their plantations joined. His own property, and Ashwood, his home, was located not far away. The brothers provided the funds, and their slaves provided the man-power, for the construction of the building. Following the custom of the day, the churchyard was dedicated for burial purposes. The first person buried in this hallowed spot was Rufus Polk, one of the brothers who passed away in 1843.

One of the interesting stories related to St. John's Church occurred in 1864 as the Army of Tennessee, commanded by Gen. Bragg, was passing by the little church building on its way to face the Federal troops in Franklin and Nashville. As a group of the officers rode by, Gen. Patrick Cleburne, one of Bragg's staff officers, commented, "This is the most beautiful and peaceful spot I ever beheld....It is almost worth dying to be buried in such a beautiful spot." Just two or three days later Cleburne's body, along with those of fellow Generals Granbury and Strahl, were carried from the Battle of Franklin and buried in St. John's Cemetery. Some years later their remains were removed and interred in cemeteries nearer their homes in other states.

Traditionally, this is the place where Episcopal bishops of Tennessee have been buried. Bishops Otey, Barth, Maxon and Vander Horst are all interred here. Burials in the cemetery are now limited to descendants of persons already interred there. Nearby Polk Memorial Gardens, a commercial enterprise, is one of the most used burial places in the county today. St. John's Church is now opened for religious services only one day each year, that being on Whitsunday. The Cemetery may be visited at any time but the church building may be entered only on special occasions or on previously arranged visits.