RECENT COMMENTS
The Shame of Evergreen Cemetery
With 1,000 good words and a damning set of photos, Selden Richardson at The Shockoe Examiner calls for Doug Wilder to take up the mantle of Evergreen Cemetery:
Former Governor L. Douglas Wilder recently unleashed “a stream of tweets,” according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, directed at the current Mayor and his administration. The complaint was the lack of maintenance of the Arthur Ashe monument on Monument Avenue, which was exhibiting some uncut grass around the base. Wilder has reason to be indignant, especially since he was among those who promoted a statue to Ashe, which after much debate was finally erected in 1996.
It is a shame the same degree of indignation regarding the condition of Richmond’s Evergreen Cemetery has not caught Wilder’s attention and his tweet stream. In those quiet woods, in graves disappearing below a sea of English ivy and kudzu, are buried many other real heroes of African American history.
If only we had development like a stadium and housing along the James to bring in tax revenue maybe there would be funds in the budget to take care of things like this. Until then, I don’t think the dead mind all that much, and the funds spent on the living probably matter more.
The dead might not mind, but descendant families and volunteers do. Both cemeteries have been in a slow decay for the past 60 years, at least. It’s an embarrassment to the city.
We have a couple of stadiums and there is housing along the James. Not sure what you mean “neighbor”. How about allocating the money from the 500K that goes to the Mayor’s police protection team, or the annual 500K that goes to the Washington football team, or the millions spent to bring out of town beer brewers here while we turn our backs on local brewers, or let’s use some of the meals tax money to help the cemetery.
“Let the dead bury the dead….”
I agree, in a society with overflowing coffers, this is a travesty. But when the city can barely pay its bills, …. I would hate to have to explain to a classroom full of kids why their leaky roof couldnt be fixed so that a cemetery could be restored.
Have some respect! These ppl lived a life and deserve to have a home to be visited that’s clean and free of vandlisim!! And for those wanting to explain it to a classroom full of kids with a leaky roof it’s called HISTORY..idiots.
Um, the monuments on Monument Ave. are city property. Evergreen is not. It is privately-owned. Not sure why everyone thinks the mayor can do something about it…
I have been trying to find a way for some time, to get the ball rolling. There are several obstacles, mainly the current owner(s) of Evergreen – and the East End Cemetery as well. To make things right, there has to be a legal system in place. A clear chain of ownership established through certified deeds. Surveying the land (there are some disputes as to some areas of acreage ownership with Oakwood). Backers who can finance cleanups (it will take millions). Professional planners to come in and supervise. And a LOT of time as it will not happen overnight. The landscape has been left unattended far too long and so, is an even bigger challenge than if it was to have been approached 30+ years ago. Then once it is cleaned up, then what? There are no perpetual care funds in place and no government grants. The community and church have been approached many times before with little to no interest. It is a private owned cemetery covering 60 acres (another 16 acres at East End) with around 5,000 graves or more. If someone has a genuine interest in helping, please contact me. John M. will provide you with my email.
@8
Who are the current owners of the these cemeteries? Has anyone been in contact with them?
Isaiah Entzminger and his wife, of UK Corp., are the owners of both Evergreen and Woodland Cemeteries while Dr. Earl Gray takes responsibility for the East End Cemetery adjoining Evergreen. I know that Dr. Gray said some 30+ years ago that he was not going to spend a dime into fixing up the grounds. Entzminger, on the other hand, has maintained that he would accept an offer for someone to come into Evergreen and spend their own money to restore the 5,000 graves, while also asking for a blank check of sorts, to maintain the grounds afterwards. The problem with this scenario is that the so-called “new section” in the clearing, is supposed to have perpetual funds collected but are not being used. There is a matter of trust and a bit of greed involved. A mediator is what’s needed as well as someone to educate him on how things really work to accomplish such a monumental project (no pun intended).
With Jim Crow and the Northern Migration, many families moved away while younger people could care less about family heritage or respect (or old things). It is a crying shame that these individuals who were mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, young and old, poor and rich are all basically just thrown away and forgotten about like yesterday’s trash.
Something has to be done and soon before nothing can, with the vegetation and trees reclaiming the land… which, it already has to a point that even Henrico (East End side) will not even step in to enforce regulations due to “reclaiming”.
We need someone with deep pockets. An African-American philanthropist who is concerned about heritage and history as there are several leaders buried there, to shake things up. I was in the midst of reaching out but was sidetracked with an immediate family member who is dealing with terminal cancer. But, I did reach out to an attorney where I work and he gave me the route to take. There have been others that made unsuccessful attempts, one recently, which may have done more damage than good with their opinionated comments that turned several important organizations sour to the idea of helping.
The situation at hand runs deeper than skin color. It is about morals, dignity, and respect for the memory of fellow human beings.
@10
This is confusing to me. What is the value of this property to the owners? I assume they cannot build or redevelop the property. I assume dead people don’t generate much income unless there are significant amounts of perpetual care funds throwing off income. If that level of perpetual care funding is in place it would seem like one could sue the owners for breach of contract. But if the money isn’t there, what is the incentive of the owner to even hold onto the property at all? Aren’t they incurring taxes and/or other costs? Couldn’t the city condemn and then seize the property for lack of proper maintenance?
I guess I wonder if these people shouldn’t be glad to sell it if a willing buyer could be found. Maybe a trust could be set up to raise acquisition funds and maintenance funds? Could the folks up at Hollywood be a resource on this?
Just random thoughts. Seems to me that these owners would be glad to be out from under these properties, but maybe I don’t understand.
One thing that has always disturbed me is the desecration of the Braxton Mausoleum. It was suspiciously vandalized first when the owner of the cemetery at the time, was stealing money and then foreclosed. It was broken into several times since with parts of coffins, skulls, and bones, taken for who knows what reason other than some sick f***s scoring morbid trophies. Come on people. These were living breathing human beings at one time and somebody’s loved one who now, have been lost forever due to your immaturity and selfishness. Only a broken crypt remains for family members to visit.
BTW, it is a felony to remove human remains without a court order! Have the police or federal authorities investigated these crimes? No. Will they? No. Sad but true that officials on all levels could care less about these cemeteries.
All you have to do is look at city operated Oakwood and its deplorable condition to know what the city thinks about cemetery property. It was only a couple of months ago that I was finally able to get Oakwood representatives to admit, that land that contains unmarked graves located on the opposite side of Stony Run Parkway, was actually theirs but was also told they have no record of who is buried there. I am sure they do, if they look hard enough. Oakwood was telling people for years that the Billups Mausoleum had no recorded entry in their books but when I was writing the article about the family’s funeral business, these records were uncovered to their surprise and the body count did not add up. Makes you wonder.
@Neighbor so good. Love that response. Also interesting to hear it is privately owned, what a strange investment, why not sell it to a foundation or the City? Of course the City wouldn’t want anything to do with it, but it sounds like someone like Eric could start a group of folks with the means to purchase the place.
Tom
11 E 36th St
How about goats and sheep to clear sections of land? Portable electric fencing hooked up to battery packs, some one to over see the animal care… Minimal cost involved!!
BAF @11 these are great questions but most can be answered in my previous CHA Newsletter articles seen in the following issues:
October 2014, pages 8-9
http://www.churchhill.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2014OCT_web7.pdf
November/December 2014, pages 14-15 and 17
http://www.churchhill.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2014NOV-DEC_web.pdf
To answer some of the questions that are puzzling you, the original group that started Evergreen was not required then to provide perpetual care, saving families money and letting them take care of their own plots. One company in 1970, purchased the cemeteries but did not want the older ones, only undeveloped land that came as a package deal. They started to scam customers and ran with the money. When it was developed, perpetual care was required but again, not spent. Then in 1973 it was purchased by UK Corp under a foreclosure sale. They were a group of black funeral directors from different funeral homes, who intention was to make a difference but it never happened. By 1981, all were dead except the secretary, Entzminger, who bought out the other’s shares and has said it was the worst decision he ever made in his life. Selling it? Not that easy to unload a money pit. It will take the right person with the right mindset and expendable finances.
One tricky part, cemeteries are exempt from property taxes if a non-profit in Henrico but not Richmond yet, this property fell through the cracks and they have been seeking back tax monies. They are also exempt from any environmental (vegetation) regulations except this year in Henrico, that changed but as mentioned before, not enforcing due to “reclaiming” by nature..
The small acreage that is now considered the new section, is the only part that is required to collect money for perpetual care but do they? Obviously not. Evergreen started off on the wrong foot in 1891 by not requiring care for the entire cemetery and a succession of owners felt that it was not profitable to maintain the old sections so basically abandoned it.
The city doesn’t value the land much as the 2015 tax assessment for the 59.2 acres of Evergreen that fall in the city line (the rest fall in Henrico County and have separate assessments) was only valued by Richmond at $12,000.
Thanks Tom @13 for your vote of confidence. It will be a long uphill battle but hoping to get the ball rolling.
Dana @ 14… have you seen the actual cemeteries? Goats not an option and there are still hundreds of trees to come down as well.
In regards to goats, I’d say Evergreen would need to be cleared first, then goats could definitely be brought in to sustain the landscape. Currently, the kudzu is so immensely and incredibly thick, it’s astounding.
Channel 12 has picked up on this….http://www.nbc12.com/story/29761804/maggie-walker-cemetery-conditions
Aud… and has choked the life out of many large trees covering them. In some areas it is carpeted and draped by these now very old vines. That is why I said there are also many trees that have to come down by professionals very carefully so to not damage graves.
crd… re the NBC12 article: This lumber clearing has been in the works for some time now by an outspoken activist, but nothing has materalized due to the lack of agreements. It is a very dangerous and difficult job to clear out so many large dead trees while protecting the graves.
Exactly Eric. If you look at the photo of my dog – she’s 3′ high and the kudzu is another two feet above her and all over the dead trees in the back. This is going to require some slow and careful excavation.
Another thing that baffles me is that these cemeteries stretch over city and county lines and depending on where that acreage falls, are bound by different laws.
There are many dead trees in which either their branches, or the entire tree, can fall at any time yet… it is a “private owned” cemetery is open to the “public”, meaning, there are liability issues.
The city won’t step in because 1) it is private land and 2) again, depending on where the land falls, it either has to adhere to the maintenance of trees, shrubs, grass, etc… or is exempt. Those areas that have to abide by the regulations were given a special exemption because nature has reclaimed the land to a point that they no longer consider it “public access”. At the same time there have been violation posts on the entrance sign by the county, which changed their regulations a year ago. Contradictions.
I had asked John Shuck, the head of the volunteer clean-up crew, about snakes in the cemeteries and he said he sees only a few and are black snakes, non poisonous yet still a problem with some people.
Honoring the past and remembering our ancestors is a worthwhile activity and these people and their stories are worth remembering.