Ongoing preservation efforts at South Asheville Cemetery are bringing renewed attention to one of the city’s most historically significant yet long overlooked African American burial grounds.
Led by the South Asheville Cemetery Association, the work focuses on restoring the cemetery while also recovering and preserving the histories connected to those buried there. The effort reflects a broader commitment to public history, public service and ethical responsibility in preserving sites that have often been marginalized or neglected.
For more than 20 years, Dr. Ellen Holmes Pearson has volunteered in the cemetery. SACA’s efforts to restore and preserve the cemetery and the legacy of those interred there inspired Dr. Pearson, along with Dr. Sarah Judson, to establish the 828 Digital Archives for Historical Equity Project, an initiative dedicated to documenting and archiving Asheville’s underrepresented histories. Her work has helped bridge the gap between archival research and community based restoration, emphasizing the importance of making these histories visible and accessible.
A rich history
Established in the 19th century, South Asheville Cemetery serves as the resting place for many African American residents whose lives shaped the region during and after Reconstruction. Per the SACA website, the cemetery began as a burial ground for enslaved people, and its first known caretaker a man named George Avery, owned by William Wallace McDowell…