EKU Danville: Restoration of Historic African American Cemetery Takes "Giant Leap Forward"
Clean-up and restoration of a historic African American cemetery near Junction City took a “giant leap forward” recently, thanks to ground-penetrating radar, a long stretch of ideal late summer weather and an ample supply of eager volunteers from the Danville and Richmond campuses of Eastern Kentucky University and the community.
The radar equipment, supplied and staffed by representatives of Cultural Resource Analysts Inc. (CRAI) on Friday, Sept. 19, helped to turn up a military headstone, a metal vault and an intact casket. In addition, newly discovered death certificates at the Smith Jackson Funeral Home in Danville may reveal critical information from the early 20th century, a time when the process for preparing death certificates was not always strictly followed.
Overgrown and neglected until the EKU-Danville Genealogy Club adopted the three-acre cemetery as a community service project more than a year ago, the Shelby City African American Cemetery is now revealing a rich history of local African Americans, many of whom were former slaves.
Published on September 26, 2014