In the spring of 2026, the CCHA cemetery team, led by Julie King-McDaniel, made it a priority to thoroughly document the Napton cemetery, located off Siler City-Glendon Road in Matthews Township. This early cemetery was associated with the Quaker Napton Meeting, which split off from Cane Creek in 1780. Some believe that the church may have been established as early as 1751 and may have been the first church established in what is now Chatham County. Records show that a church and schoolhouse were active at Napton as late as 1864.

The Napton cemetery is noted for containing the Chatham grave marker with the earliest death date recorded on an original marker --1774. Hannah was the daughter of Charles and Margaretta Von Cullen White, immigrants from Pennsylvania who were very early Chatham inhabitants. Many of the unmarked burials in Napton are likely older than Hannah’s. It is not known when the site became used for non-Quaker burials.

For more about this early cemetery, there's an article on our webpage: Hannah White grave marker at Napton cemetery.pdf

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