JEFFERSON
Members of the Ashe County Historical Society spent this spring and summer updating records of about 700 small cemeteries on private land, and were upset to find that some gravestones were missing or had been moved since a two-volume set of cemetery books was compiled in the early 1990s.
They're working with Ashe County government to come up with a new oversight committee for the county's cemeteries, and a process to ensure that developers or other landowners know where the cemeteries are and that state law protects them.
"Our concern is we're trying to make folks aware and make it easier for the landowner to use their land, but at the same time protect these cemeteries," said Lonnie Jones, a Historical Society member who has helped gather information about the cemeteries.
It's a felony to desecrate a grave or to move a grave marker if the damage is $1,000 or more.
Otherwise, it's a misdemeanor.
Jerry Brown, the president of the Ashe County Historical Society, and Jones, a past president, said that so far they have found five cases where grave markers have been disturbed in the nearly 20 years since the cemetery books were compiled.
They say they're not interested in going back to have people prosecuted, but want to make sure that cemeteries are protected in Ashe County from now on.
Ashe County commissioners have asked Jones and Brown to come up with a list of people who could serve on an oversight committee.
"They can work with the planning board to make sure when there is development these properties are protected," said Judy Porter Poe, the chairwoman of the Ashe County Board of Commissioners.
Sometimes it's difficult for people looking for the cemeteries to find them. Some are small plots, hidden in overgrown brush. Some of the cemetery records offer vague descriptions of locations.
The Ashe County Historical Society hopes that people can use GPS units to map the cemeteries as they continue to update the records. "I think that's a thing we really need to work on," Jones said. "It would make it so much easier if we had the GPS coordinates. As we visit the cemeteries, we might be able to gather those coordinates and provide them."
The committee could also figure out a way to incorporate the data into land records or into the planning process when property is developed, Brown said.
Both men said that the problem of people moving tombstones or building over graves or reusing the land for other purposes is common across the state.
"The sad part about this is it's not just here, it's everywhere, and it's something nobody is watching," Brown said.
The Ashe County Historical Society plans to present names for the oversight committee at a meeting of the county commissioners.
■ Monte Mitchell can be reached in Wilkesboro at 336-667-5691 or at mmitchell@wsjournal.com
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