Lynn Rainville, an archaeology and history professor at Sweet Briar College in Amherst County, has created a project that catalogues and maps rural cemeteries in two Virginia James River counties. The site, African-American Cemeteries in Albemarle & Amherst Counties, provides a focus on graveyards where markers are often the first to disappear.
‘A lot of these cemeteries contain un-inscribed gravestones,’ said Rainville, also a visiting researcher at the University of Virginia. ‘If you do have them on your property, unless you start looking for it, you might very well miss it.’
As development becomes more common, Rainville said it’s going to be important that developers and landowners know where these cemeteries are.
‘If they were hidden before, the bulldozers discover them,’ said Scot French, a U.Va. history professor who leads the Virginia Center for Digital History.
While French said there are laws in place to deal with people who knowingly destroy cemeteries, the Rainville Web site makes it easier for developers to avoid gravesites.
Rainville connects readers to the history of slavery and segregation in Virginia, a vital resource in the wake of Virginia’s apology this past week for its role in slavery.
Rural cemeteries in Virginia are vanishing from record and memory when landowners die or when development occurs. Rainville’s project serves as vital map to a world that could easily be lost and forgotten. In that light, they are always searching for more information about historic black cemeteries in either Albemarle or Amherst County Virginia. If you have any additional information about the cemeteries contained in this website or if you know of others located within the two counties, please contact them.
Source: AP on Topix
Posted by river queen at 1:54 PM PST
Cemeteries and graveyards can speak volumes about the history and traditions contained within a community. Memorials and gravestones can reveal much about a single person and his family as well. But, some markers and memorials simply represent stunning artworks to the objective observer. I’m often distracted by these sculptures as I wander through cemeteries in search for unrelated individuals. Some memorials, such as the Weeping Angel, can take my breath away.
