On the Blue Ridge Parkway near Floyd, Virginia, is a stop called Shortts Knob Overlook. If you ask for directions to Shortts Knob, most folks will send you to the overlook. From this spot you can look out and see Shortts Knob which looks like a circular button.

There are actually two cemeteries on Shortts Knob, formerly owned by Reuben Shortt and his wife Lydia Clarke Shortt. The upper cemetery is near the county line at the top of the ridge. The lower cemetery is near the "driveway" of the Reuben Shortt homestead, up the hill a bit, across from the former house, near the apple shed and former outhouse.

There is no mailing address or URL for this cemetery. It is on privately owned property which cannot be accessed with a conventional car. It must be at least a four wheel drive and access partly depends on how muddy the area is. You may want to secure permission from the current owner(s) before visiting. Once you get to Reuben Shortt's former house, you must then hike quite a ways uphill to reach the upper graves, and it's a fairly steep slope.

The Upper Cemetery is right on the county line, which is marked with bright pink blazes along the ridge. When the surveyors came through, Shortt family members requested that they ensure that the entire Shortt cemetery remain within Floyd County, and this request was honored. There is a breathtaking view from this ridge.

Upper Cemetery

Reuben Shortt and Lydia Clarke Shortt (no grave markers remain)

Joseph N. Shortt: In Memory of Joseph N. Shortt. Born March 19, 1803. Died Dec. 30, 1876. Aged 73 Years, 9 Mo., 11 Days.

Mary Shortt: In Memory of Mary Shortt. Born April 15, 1807. Died March 3, 1866. Aged 58 years, 10 Mos., 8 Days.

Marion M. Shortt: GO.D., 51 VA. INF. C.S.A. (no dates given)

There may or may not be more family members interred here.

Lower Cemetery

Naaman J Shortt: Our Father Naaman J Shortt Born Sept. 20, 1829 Died Aug. 5, 1911 Meet me in heaven

Nancy Simsons Shortt: Our Mother Nancy Wife of N.J. Shortt Born Apr 16, 1833 Died Mar 25, 1906 Meet me in heaven