Group Pays Tribute To Cemetery History

Written by John Ellingsworth

Wednesday, 07 July 2004

[Originally published here.] Tuesday, March 01, 2005 The Wilkins Cemetery, a landmark of Black history in Dunn, was the scene Saturday of a gathering to remember, commemorate and set goals to restore the cemetery that was neglected for decades. A movement to restore the Wilkins Cemetery gathered more momentum at the gathering as residents urged volunteers to help clean up the cemetery and remove the trees and underbrush that have taken over. The Wilkins Cemetery Commission, the group of volunteers spearheading efforts to clean up the graveyard, heard from state Sen. Harris Blake, a guest at the gathering who said he would support efforts to make the graveyard a historic site. After hearing some spiritual hymns from the Campbell University Gospel Choir, Geredine Goodman spoke and extolled the cemetery's value as a piece of Harnett County history. She called for a clean-up, as a way to honor the dead that are buried there. 'I think we cannot let the cemetery remain in condition it is in," Ms. Goodman said. 'We've made a decision to clean this cemetery and it may take years, but we are going to do it." Wilkins Cemetery is more than 100 years old, and was the final resting place for many of Dunn's early Black residents. The cemetery is tucked between the CSX Railroad and the end of North Wilson Avenue behind the old Dunn General Utility Company Mill. Although some individual plots have been maintained by the families of those buried there, most of the graveyard is in an advanced state of neglect and disrepair. A forest grew over most of the cemetery, which exceeds a city block in size and may contain as many as 1,000 graves, covering graves with leaves and dense underbrush. Many of the coffins in the ground have collapsed, causing rectangle-shaped holes in the ground. Some of the gravemarkers and headstones are gone, with only shallow depression in the ground marking the spot. Disregard For Graves Jessie McKoy, a retired schoolteacher, told her own story about the impact of the graveyard's neglect. Ms. McKoy said her mother, Sarah Clark Smith, died in 1932, when Ms. McKoy was just a teenager. While Ms. McKoy was away at college, what is now Hannah's Pond was dug out and the dirt piled on top of some graves at the cemetery's extreme northern end. 'They cleaned out Surles Pond and all the mud and muck was thrown on the other end of the cemetery. Mother's grave was buried," Ms. McKoy said. 'That hurt very much." Hannah's Pond was originally called Surles Pond, and was used by black churches for baptisms in the early 20th Century, Ms. McKoy said. John Weeks relayed his own personal memories of Don Toon, the man whose family owned much of the Wilkins Cemetery. Don Toon's daughter Daisy Toon Jacobs, and Daisy's daughter Sandy Jacobs and Daisy's niece Lillie Toon Meacham were all at Wilkins Saturday. 'There's absolutely royal blood in your veins," Mr. Weeks said to the Toon descendants. 'What a history this area has. There's a lot of history for all of us to share." Louise Sutton, granddaughter of the late John D. Culbreth - patriarch of a family of well-known black teachers in Dunn - read a chapter from a Harnett County history book about her family. Mr. Culbreth was buried in Wilkins after his death in 1965. His daughter, Nina Baldwin Culbreth, was at Saturday's event. The Culbreth plot is one of the few that has been well-maintained over the years. Mildred Stevens performed a song, 'Don't Forget Me," that she composed herself, before former Dunn Mayor Dr. Abraham Oudeh spoke. 'I think it's disgraceful," Dr. Oudeh said of the cemetery's condition. Dr. Oudeh suggested the cemetery commission explore the idea of erecting a marble monument inscribed with the names of the buried dead at Wilkins. 'I would be willing to contribute financially as much as I could," Dr. Oudeh said. Sen. Blake, who represents Harnett County in Senate District 22, said he was in favor of efforts to make the graveyard a historic site. He cautioned that it would take planning and funding and advised the commission to seek a land-use plan first. 'I would say to you this is a historical place and it can be preserved. It will take planning. It will take funds," Sen. Blake said. The senator said he thought the graveyard area would make a 'wonderful park." Finally, Joy Williams gave a report of Wilkins Cemetery and the commission's efforts to restore the graveyard. She said Wilkins was a museum of Black History in itself, because it represented the struggles of the black community. 'Nothing represents the struggles you went through better than this," she said. Mrs. Williams, whose husband Martin is helping clear out large trees from the cemetery, said Wilkins is equal in historical importance to the Gen. William C. Lee Museum. The restoration started off with garbage clean-ups two years ago, when an N.C. Department of Transportation plan to build a Granville Street bridge over the CSX Railroad included removing the Wilkins Cemetery and relocating the graves to another site. The project was defeated, but put the neglected cemetery into the spotlight.

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 25 March 2008 )

 

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