AUBURN, Ala (EETV) - A historic African American Cemetery is clean thanks to a group of community members.
Students from Auburn University, Auburn Junior High, and the local research group RPAAST cleaned Baptist Hill Cemetery. It is the oldest African American cemetery in Auburn.
“I’m not a spiritual person but it’s good for you spirit,” Auburn University student Jackson Chambers said. “You ‘re helping people.”
Located on South Dean Road and Thach Avenue, the 4-acre cemetery contains over 500 marked graves. The oldest Grave dates back to 1879.
Though Baptist Hill is a staple in Auburn’s history, it does not receive regular grave maintenance from local grounds keepers.
“The city doesn't own Baptist Hill Cemetery,” Auburn University Professor Robert Bubb said. “The cemetery itself is a community cemetery, it doesn’t have a deed. The city can only do so much with land it doesn’t own.”
Bubb says the city can perform small duties such as cutting and trimming the lawns, but it’s left up to the community to care for the cemetery as much as possible.
“We get out there and just try to straighten up and maintain” Bubb said. “We pick up debris, pick up branches and clean up any kind of litter that’s out there."
In addition to cleaning the cemetery, some volunteers had another goal in mind.
Auburn Junior High School Teacher, Logan Shaddix says some of his students are gathering information about those buried in Baptist Hill with the help of college students. He says the stories of the deceased are important.
“These are local induvial who lived, breath and died in Auburn,” Shaddix said. “We have students who are researching individuals from the 1910s who were census back then and Individuals who don’t really have much of a story.”
Shaddix says cleaning cemeteries offers a new perspective and a brilliant way to serve the community
The next cemetery clean up is scheduled for Spring of 2022. In the meantime, volunteers urge people to visit the resting place and remember one thing.
“Everybody in this cemetery was a human being,” Shaddix said. “They had thoughts, they had emotion, love, lost and all sorts of things going on in their lives. They deserve to be remembered just as much as we all think that we will be remembered one day. "
