NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — A piece of Rutherford County’s rich African American history is receiving new life thanks to $250,000 in state funding secured by Rep. Mike Sparks (R-Smyrna) and Sen. Shane Reeves (R-Murfreesboro).
The funds will support the preservation of the historic Cemetery Community, a settlement established by freed slaves and Black Civil War veterans near the Stones River National Battlefield. The Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration will administer two $125,000 grants—one to Friends of Cemetery School, Inc., and another to the Mel Malone Family Foundation.
“The Cemetery Community is extremely important to the history of Rutherford County and Tennessee,” said Sparks. “These funds will help ensure the legacy of those who lived, worked, and worshiped here continues to be told for generations.”…