old cemetery

[former resident kentucky]

I wonder how many people know about the old cemetery at the corner of plank and adams rd. I think it is so sad that it is in the state that it is in.There are only partial tombstones there most of them have been destroyed by guessing teens partying, as it can't be seen from the road.any comments?

[Jeff TMANN]

Yes, your so right, I can remember walking thru the old grave yard back in the early 80's, no one took care of it back then, and I can only emagine what it looks like now, probly not a pretty sight. Once a while back I had plans to purchase the land but meet with a lot of red tape. I wonder who owns it now?

[former resident kentucky]

I don't know who owns it but i do know that a reporter showed up there at one time to do a story on it and he apparently was met and told that no cemetery existed there. I just think it's horrible that those graves are in the state their in. I have also heard that the people buried there used to be slaves but don't know how true that is.Even if it were true they deserve a decent place to rest and i am sure some people that do have a heart would put flowers there once in awhile.

[meindupo]

is this near the railroad in north Dupo?

[IN MY BACKYARD]

I lived right near there as a kid. We used to run the paths that where all over back there. We where NEVER allowed to get off the paths or disturb the graves in anyway or are mother would have had our asses. I have often wondered what would ever come of that place? Who owns the land?

[hithere]

where is the plank not familiar with this, it is a shame that old cemetarys are not taken care of

[MEINDUPO]

I have tried to find this mzny time and can't

[Laser Lady]

hithere wrote:

where is the plank not familiar with this, it is a shame that old cemetarys are not taken care of

I *think* that my grandmother said that Plank Road was the road that runs from Main Street in Dupo across the tracks into EC. If that isn't Plank Road, I don't know what the actual name of it is.(And how sad would that be? I lived out on 7th Street in EC for a couple of years in the mid-'80s and drove that road every day.)

[BOSSDOG]

IT'S CALLED PLANK ROAD AND ALSO STATE ST.THE CEMETERY BELONGED TO THE BLACK PEOPLE ALWAYS WONDERED WHY THEY LET IT GO.

[dsunshine]

Grew up here and heard storie's about the cemetery. People would go back a dig them up. I live by there now and my kid's go back there, they say it's pretty bad. My son was in there last year and got scared by something was half asleep and got kinda lost. We didn't know what happened. He finally called someone. And the chief Doug Key's came out and the fire department to make sure he was ok, but Doug and Mike S. was talking about the cemetery, we told them the shape it was in and they said they would find out if something could be done. Yeah right that was last year and still nothing. This place is in the field's off Adam's Rd. Something does need to be done. Something just isn't right out there.

[PatriotGirl]

A friend of mine and I are in the process of recording all the graves out at this cemetery. Does anyone know the name of it? The history on it is nill from the many hours of research I have put in. The landowners live in MO and northern IL so that's why it continues to be vandalized. There is no one to chase them away. There is one famous Civil War buffalo soldier out there - Jack Jackson (6th US Colored Heavy Artillery). Someone dug up his grave and carried the headstone about 100 feet away. They also spray painted it along with many others. They have moved a few of the headstones into a circle around a fire pit for seating. At one point a boxing ring was erected in the middle of the cemetery. Anyone who knows any family members of interments or other info on the history of the cemetery, please respond to this post. Any information at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[area 618]

I THINK THE PEOPLE OF E.C. OR DUPO SHOULD GET TOGETHER AND CLEAN IT. I FOR ONE WOULD BE WILLING TO HELP OUT. IT IS BAD WHEN WE LET A CEMETERY GO DOWN LIKE THIS.

[Change]

I would be glad to help.

[unknown]

it wasn't destroyed by teens or anything it was from the flood because we had to do a research project on it in one of mrs. a's classes.

[you only complain]

area 618 wrote:

I THINK THE PEOPLE OF E.C. OR DUPO SHOULD GET TOGETHER AND CLEAN IT. I FOR ONE WOULD BE WILLING TO HELP OUT. IT IS BAD WHEN WE LET A CEMETERY GO DOWN LIKE THIS.

Come on down jimmy

[PatriotGirl]

I've been out there regularly for the past 3 years and have seen progressing vandalism going on. I don't know who's doing it. The police are supposed to start keeping a better eye on it. But 'unknown' you are right. There has been continuous flooding in that area, especially the great floods of 1993, 1892, and 1844 which destroyed a lot in the American Bottoms. In '92 & '44 East Carondelet was said to be under water. I think cleaning this cemetery would take some time, and lots of effort. It is a pretty large area, in the woods. Anyone who has lived near the woods knows how fast it can get over-grown. It would take constant maintenance to keep it up. It would be good if people wanted to organize and clean it up and keep it nice. Does anyone know anyone having a relative interred there?

[Laser Lady]

PatriotGirl wrote:

I've been out there regularly for the past 3 years and have seen progressing vandalism going on. I don't know who's doing it. The police are supposed to start keeping a better eye on it. But 'unknown' you are right. There has been continuous flooding in that area, especially the great floods of 1993, 1892, and 1844 which destroyed a lot in the American Bottoms. In '92 & '44 East Carondelet was said to be under water. I think cleaning this cemetery would take some time, and lots of effort. It is a pretty large area, in the woods. Anyone who has lived near the woods knows how fast it can get over-grown. It would take constant maintenance to keep it up. It would be good if people wanted to organize and clean it up and keep it nice. Does anyone know anyone having a relative interred there?

I don't know anyone interred there (that I know of, anyway), but I would be happy to help clean it up, do any recording, etc.(I will warn you, though, that organization is NOT one of my strong points!) If I can be of any help at all, contact me at [e-mail].

[Patriot Girl]

If we could get enough people interested, I could maybe try to get a hold of the landowners to see if we could get permission to go out and do some cleaning up. It may take awhile but I appreciate that some of you guys are willing to help. I will let you know what I can find out. In the meantime, if you want some interesting reading - here is a long story of the buffalo soldier buried out there:
(This is a story of a black Civil War hero. None of the verbage here is meant to be offensive to the reader. It is taken from direct quotes written down during that time. None of this info can be published as I took much of it from direct quotes in many book & online sources.)
During the Civil War Jack Jackson became a soldier of the 6th Regiment, United States Colored Heavy Artillery.“By the time the war ended in 1865, he [Lorenzo Tomas] had enrolled more than 76,000 black soldiers for the Union. Three of the earliest regiments Thomas raised provided the bulk of the Federal force that defended Milliken’s Bend in early June 1863.”
These new black recruits would fight in some of the fiercest battles in the Civil War, all with no military experience, and most never having held a gun or weapon in their lives. But these black troops would prove to be exceptionally formidable and the key the Union needed for reversing the outcome of a war in which they were continuously losing ground.
“Appointing officers and authorizing the new regiments were relatively easy tasks. Actually filling the ranks with black recruits took more work.” The fear of being tortured and hanged if they were caught by Confederate forces, or the fear of war itself was an understandable deterrent. It was also true that they dreaded white authority in any form as racism was a common factor in every corner of the country, not just the South. Jack Jackson became essential in the recruiting, or drafting may be a better word, of these apprehensive blacks.
“The dispirited white officers then turned to a man who had already joined the unit, an African American who knew how to communicate with his fellow black Southerners. This formidable individual, known as Big Jack Jackson, accompanied the white Northerners on their next recruiting jaunt. Dressed in a sergeant’s army jacket and striped military pants, armed with a musket and cartridge box, and sitting astride a horse, Jackson was probably the first black soldier these plantation hands had ever seen, and his appearance caused a stir in the slave quarters. He simply plowed through the crowds of gathering slaves, grabbing and snatching recruits in his path and ignoring the frowns and warnings of their women. The white officers merely stood back and watched Jackson work, filtering their understanding through the racism that afflicted many white Northerners as well as Southerners.
(continued next post....)

[dupo gal]

I SAY LETS DO IT, THERE ARE MORE THEN ENOUGH PEOPLE WILLING TO WORK ON IT TO GET THE JOB DONE.

[PatriotGirl]

If you guys really want to, I will try to gain landowner permission and acquire a permit from the IL Historic Preservation Agency to do this. In the meantime spread the word if you know any other people who might want to help out too. It would be a great thing to restore it. I'll keep checking back here to see if the discussion continues and to see if people are still interested, and we'll try to come up with a day that works. I'm thinking it will take at least a month or so to get everything arranged.