The History of Higgins Funeral Home
iggins Funeral Home, Inc is locally owned and operated and has been serving Lincoln County since 1903. We are honored to proud to be a full service funeral business offering preplanning, at-need services and after-care services to the families of Fayetteville and Lincoln County.
More than a century of our family caring for your family.
The History of Higgins Funeral Home
n January 1, 1903, Hiram, Eugene and Owen Higgins opened the Higgins Brothers Furniture and Undertaking on the northwest corner of the Fayetteville Square in the building now occupied by Newman Realty. One year later they moved to the opposite end of the block now occupied by The Dragon Fly. With the furniture store on the ground level and the undertaking storeroom on the second floor, they began a business that has set the community standard for 103 years. The days were long as travel was done in a horse drawn hearse, embalming, when practiced, was done in the home and funerals were conducted in the community church. The deceased was laid out in the home where friends would call to comfort the bereaved family. The casket interior materials were selected by the family and installed by the undertaker. Using a retired fire horse to pull the hearse presented a challenge. With the stable and undertaking establishment located near the fire hall, whenever the fire bell would ring, the horse would attempt to rush to his place at the fire engine. A team of gray horses was used for funerals of older people and a team of white horses for the funeral of young people.
hilip M. Higgins, son of Hiram and Mayme Higgins, graduated from the Cincinnati College of Embalming and was licensed by the State of Tennessee as a funeral director and embalmer. He joined his father and uncles in serving the families of Lincoln County.
In 1931, Higgins Brothers sold their furniture business and moved to 213 East Market Street to dedicate their efforts to the funeral business. They purchased the Holman home built in 1912, opening the first funeral home in Fayetteville. Following several renovations and modernizations, this home was tragically destroyed by fire on May 6, 1986. The replacement, Fayetteville’s largest and finest funeral facility, was opened in 1987.
Because motor driven hearses could double as ambulances the Higgins Funeral Home offered this service to the community until the establishment of the Lincoln County Ambulance Service in 1972.
harles Higgins, the third generation, joined his father, Philip, in 1972 and continues to serve the community with his son Clay Higgins, the fourth generation who joined the firm in 2001. Assisting Charles and Clay are the staff of Higgins Funeral Home, Funeral directors and embalmers Christy Richardson, Walter Sloan, Funeral Director Larry Halcomb, Office Manager Elizabeth Sloan, Apprentice Funeral Director and Embalmer , Family Care Assistants Tommy Sisk, Ennis Hyman, Sherri Haislip, Derrick Gatlin and Hope DeJarnett, and Care Takers James Lee Fox and Wayne Holman providing more than 200 years experience in serving Fayetteville and Lincoln County Families.