Photo Courtesy of Virginia Outdoors Foundation

Photo courtesy of Enrichmond Foundation

For 20 years local Richmond residents spearheaded efforts to clean up the once neglected and overgrown Evergreen Cemetery, a historic 60-acre African-American cemetery in Richmond, VA. Established in 1891, Evergreen is the final resting place for over 20,000 African-Americans, including many influential Richmond residents like Maggie Walker, founder of the first woman- and African-American owned bank in the nation. The cemetery stands as a monument of black history and achievement.

In January 2019 the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF), in partnership with Enrichmond Foundation, finalized a conservation easement on the property, and in September added 14 acres from the adjacent East End Cemetery to the easement. VOF also provided a $400,000 grant to Enrichmond from its Preservation Trust Fund to help with restoration costs. “The easement will provide for the permanent protection and restoration of this cemetery so that future generations can learn from the very important history that resides here,” says Brett Glymph, Virginia Outdoors Foundation Executive Director.

Restoration of this historic site is vitally important to the families of those buried here. But its conservation is also key to developing an accurate and inclusive narrative of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.  Volunteer clean-up days are continuing, with large-scale site restoration slated to begin in 2020.

Photo courtesy of Virginia Outdoors Foundation