Nigel Rudolph and others in his field argue that burial grounds serve the living more so than the dead, justifying the need for their discovery and protection. Florida lawmakers are recognizing this in the upcoming legislative session.
Archeologists encourage community involvement in cemeteries wuft.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wuft.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Freed slaves built the Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal Church, which the cemetery was named for, said Gina Hawkins, executive director of Keep Alachua County Beautiful.
Many of the tombstones lie on the ground with broken bases and covered in dirt, notably worsened from Hurricane Irma damage. Many of the graves were covered by fallen trees.
Continuing her sister s clean-up goal
Lopez’s 96-year-old sister, Clyde Williams, decided to start cleaning up the cemetery in 1999. Williams organized the Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal Cemetery Restoration Organization.
Lopez took over her sister’s initiative in 2016.
“She became ill and asked me if I would take over the cemetery and try to bring it back to life and get the organization going again, which I did,” Lopez said. “We are now a nonprofit organization and what we ve been doing is just trying to raise money to fulfill her goal.”