The Chaney Family Burial Grounds has 19 marked graves and numerous unmarked stone markers inside and outside the iron fence perimeter. The oldest marked headstone belongs to William Chaney (1792-1876). William Chaney was a tobacco farmer on this land, long known as the Chaney Farm.



William Chaney had 13 children from two marriages. His second wife Elizabeth Bradley is buried to the left of his grave. Buried here are three of their children, two sons, Beverley Chaney and Alfred Anderson Chaney, a daughter Martha Chaney, and 11 of their grandchildren including the last living occupant of the Chaney plantation home, Virginia "Virgie" Chaney (1878-1964). The nearby home burned to the ground August 3-4, 1964 when lightning struck the residence. At the time, Virginia Chaney was in the hospital in Danville and she passed away several hours after the fire without knowing the home had been lost. After the fire, Virginia's cousin Dr. Joseph Walton Milam acquired the property in 1967 along with the adjoining homeplace farm of Jackson Walters. Tobacco and later other crops continued to be grown on the farms until 2014.



Two of Dr. Milam's children -- Jean Marie Milam Wheeler and Laura Lee Milam Keim (relatives of everyone buried here) -- inherited the farm in 2014 which has been known since as Walton's Wish Farms. In 2019, the timber was cut around the burial grounds which have also been completely cleared to allow for continued use of the cemetery by the family. Access is restricted by a locked gate at the road. Visitors may inquire about access by contacting Brian Wheeler and Jean Milam Wheeler at 434-409-9010.