AUSTIN, Texas — Descendants of African-Americans buried at the Walnut Creek Cemetery in northeast Austin gathered on Saturday morning to clean up the burial site.
“What we're trying to do now is provide some leadership and restoring this cemetery back to where it's a safe and respectable,” said Charles Caldwell, who led the cleanup efforts.
The cemetery opened back in the 1860s. There are adults and children of all ages buried there, including former slaves, according to the Walnut Creek Preservation Committee.
“My parents are buried here, my grandparents are buried here, my great-grandparents are buried here,” Caldwell said. “I feel like it's my solemn duty to help keep this place going.”
RELATED:
One of the main problems the site has is homeless people breaking through the fence and camping in the cemetery. Volunteers have to regularly clean up their trash and call the police to have them removed.
“It's not safe for people to come here. Sometimes they get belligerent,” Caldwell said.
Linda Eppright’s mother is buried at the cemetery.
“It's a dangerous situation for all. We can't come visit our loved ones because we don't know how many people are here, when they're here; they break the fence down and we have to put the fence back up,” Eppright said.
She wants her mother’s legacy to live on, which is why she also volunteered on Saturday morning.
“We have to preserve our history as African-Americans and descendants of this great city,” Eppright said.
The cemetery also needs undergrowth, which has grown a lot of over the years, removed. Caldwell said they hope to cut it all out to see what else can be done to improve the area.
Caldwell expects the cleanup to take up to three years, in order to get the cemetery looking how they want it. The ultimate goal is to get the cemetery listed as a historical site.
“We're looking to keep going forward, working at our own pace,” he said. “We work with what we got and we're committed to getting this cleaned up.”
The committee plans to have future cleanups at least once a month. They’re also looking for additional volunteers to help make the improvements. You can find out more by contacting Caldwell at cdotwell@aol.com.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: