People who are concerned about a damaged cemetery in Spring Lake are coming together to try to restore the burial site.
The historically Black gravesite is described by locals as a hidden gem in the area.
In one spot is an unidentified casket that is being unearthed because of residual damage from Hurricane Florence. Community members said they fear there may have been other remains that have been lost and washed away because of flooding caused by the hurricane.
Locals didn’t only point out the casket that’s being unearthed, they also noted that there are countless veterans buried at the site going at least as far back as World War II.
“It’s not good. Not good at all,” said Wilbur Graham of Spring Lake. “And when I saw it and I see all the veterans here, I realized that we’ve got to move and we’ve got to clean up the cemetery.”
The church that now oversees the cemetery, Bethel AME Zion Church, said the oldest marked grave goes back to 1905, and that the site was once reserved for African Americans.