RICHMOND, Ky. (LEX 18) — As Americans remember those lost in combat, a non-profit in Richmond is highlighting stories of fallen African American soldiers from their community.
The Friends of Maple Grove Cemetery have spent the past four years beautifying and researching the history behind Madison County's oldest and largest African American cemetery.
On Monday, Donna Kavanaugh, board member and documentarian of the 2021 Maple Grove Cemetery Grave Registration Record Book, led visitors on a cemetery tour, telling the stories of those buried there.
"It's a lot of work and we're very proud of it," said Kavanaugh.
The nonprofit started in 2019 to restore and maintain the cemetery. The stories they uncovered and thoroughly researched date back to the 1870s.
"Cemeteries are our history. They tell our past. It tells who our people were in the past and how we're related, and we don't realize where a lot of people came from is right where they're buried at," said Kavanaugh.
Of the more than 1,600 tombstones, President Judy Greene-Baker says they've created 68 signs to remember 68 people buried there with the help of donors and grants. Black poles represent a person who was a military veteran.
They also recognize those without headstones.
Every year, on Memorial Day, they focus on honoring fallen veterans.
They host a ceremony for the six soldiers who were killed in action and buried there.
On Veterans Day they host another ceremony for all soldiers.
"We want to share that African American history with the rest of the world," said Greene-Baker.
