The Goals

Design and implement a safe place with no tripping hazards for descendants and members of the community to enjoy while paying their respects at the cemetery. The cemetery was overgrown with trees and weeds, to the extent that even next-door neighbors to the cemetery had no idea it existed. Graves were sunken in, and many stumps were scattered throughout the cemetery. As these were hazards, the team focused on a strategy to improve the overall safety within the cemetery.

Conserve the original artifacts on site and document what the cemetery looked like prior to any rehabilitation efforts, to maintain the cemetery as an African American heritage site. This consisted of noting all stones, stumps, trees, tombstones, shrubbery, etc. in order to conserve the natural beauty of the cemetery. This also afforded us the opportunity to recognize what was there prior to the rehabilitation efforts and how NOT to interfere with the addition of anything not noted during the cemetery’s years. For example, for reasons unknown to the team, no religious iconography was noted on the tombstones, or any references to God. Therefore, the team decided NOT to construct crosses in the cemetery or to reflect these references in the conservation of the cemetery. Our purpose was to conserve the cemetery to its natural state.

Develop visual harmony with the neighborhood and utilize the cemetery as an outdoor classroom. As stated in the first point, the cemetery was in a tremendous state of overgrowth and had been unkempt for more than 50 years. Therefore, upon clean-up, the team wanted a landscape plan that would serve two purposes: 1) continuity within the existing community and 2) reflection on the African American culture in the early 20^th century (note the cemetery was post-Victorian era). We also want individuals visiting the cemetery to recognize the importance of the plants chosen to beautify the landscape. This includes college students, descendants, and community citizens.