MT HOLLY SPRINGS, Pa. — There is a lot history buried at the Cedar Street Cemetery in Mt. Holly Springs, Cumberland County, and the Mt. Tabor Preservation Project is making sure those stories are told. The non-profit teamed up with Dickinson College to place solar lights on unmarked graves at the cemetery
Carmen James, president of the Mt. Tabor Preservation Project, grew up on Cedar Street, not far from the African American cemetery.
“The cemetery wasn’t always well-kept so as kids we didn’t pay attention to the cemetery. It wasn’t until I got older and moved home and started talking to people, like Lindsay Varner from the Cumberland County Historical Society, that I realized that this is history,” said James. “It has seven USCT troops, which are United States Colored Troops.”
Those veterans served in the civil war and two were formerly enslaved. Dozens of graves in the Cedar Street Cemetery are unmarked, which is what brought James and other volunteers to the cemetery on Saturday morning.
“What we’ve done today is sink flush mount solar lights so the lawnmower can go over them and make sure that they’re recognized. There will be a warm glow where there is no headstone,” James said.
This event is a culmination of two years of research on the site to identify unmarked burials and honor those buried in the hallowed ground. Dickinson College Professor, Jorden Hayes, led the classes’ efforts and gave demonstrations with the ground penetrating radar equipment used to locate the potential burials. The solar lights will add a visual reminder of the more than 50 people buried in the cemetery.
“It’s sort of preserving what made us who we are today. There is history out there. This little town has history,” James added. “This street has history and the good thing is that there are a lot of people who cared enough to tell us.”
The Cedar Street Cemetery is closely tied to the former Mt. Tabor AME Zion Church and the African American community in Mt. Holly Springs. The cemetery served as the segregated cemetery in the Borough and is located on the same street at the Church, which is currently undergoing preservation efforts.