Morehead Cemetery nearly overgrown

Just across from Oak Grove Cemetery, another old burial place exists in the middle of Marion. But this cemetery has not gotten the attention and care that Oak Grove and other graveyards in McDowell usually get.
The Morehead Cemetery exists in a lonely, overgrown section of Marion. It is an important part of McDowell's black history. For many years, Pea Vine railroad separated the historically black and private Morehead Cemetery from the historically white Oak Grove Cemetery, which is owned and maintained by the city.
Now those tracks are gone and the cemetery has become badly overgrown with weeds, brush, trees and other vegetation. A resident of the Morehead community, who asked not to be identified, said this final resting place for so many people should get better attention.
"We're on the other side of the tracks," said the man, who lives near the old cemetery. "I haven't seen this place cleaned up in years. It wouldn't take that much to clean it up."
This man, who grew up in the Morehead neighborhood, said he remembers when folks were laid to rest in the old cemetery. He also remembers a more innocent time when the community was safer and closer knit.
"I used to play back here when I was a kid," he said as he made his way through the thick brush. "It runs back to the old East Marion cotton mill."
In 1998, The McDowell News ran an article about the Morehead Cemetery and how it needed to be cleaned up back then. "Most of the graves out there are unmarked," said Warren Hobbs in 1998. At the time, he was president of the McDowell County Historical Society and assisted with the cleaning and maintenance of the cemetery.
Since then, Hobbs has passed away and the place has become even more overgrown as nature is reclaiming the site. Many of the headstones are hard to read even in the winter because they are so covered up with vegetation. Rutherford, Swepson, Forney, Scott, Carson and Greenlee are just some of the names that can be found on the markers in the Morehead Cemetery. Several tombstones contain dates from the 1800s. One marker shows the grave of Kenneth Crisp, a World War II veteran who died in 1974.
One marker simply reads, "The Ervins rest here." A stone obelisk stands for the Fields family. These headstones and markers signify only those families who were able to provide a marker for their deceased relatives. Many others could not.
And since 1998, the old cemetery became the place for some illegal activity, according to the man who lives near it. He saw what took place at what is actually a hallowed ground.
"Them guys would come out here and party all the time, drink and smoke crack," he said. "They had their whores out here."
They left behind their beer cans and bottles on the graves. Now, those people are in prison but they will still have to answer to the Lord for what they did to the Morehead Cemetery, said the man who lives near the burial ground.
He hopes that some folks with the time and right equipment will step forward and clean up this important but forgotten part of McDowell's heritage.
"Somebody with money could do something," he said. "It could be cleaned up good with some bush hogging."
For many residents, the Morehead Cemetery has long been a focal point for the community.
"When I was a little boy, the first of May of every year, there were always get-togethers and people would clean it," said Guy Jackson of Airport Road in 1998.
Now, the 73-year-old Jackson said the place is in need of attention. "There's trees growing in there now," he said.
Local historian Anne Swann said she remembers when it was almost destroyed.
"Several years ago, there was some controversy about this cemetery and the fact that some of the graves either had been disturbed or were about to be disturbed by grading," she said. "I was working at the Health Department at the time, and it was our responsibility to oversee removal of graves, etc. We had several phone calls about this back then and the calls were referred to law enforcement since there is a law prohibiting disturbing cemeteries. I don't remember the outcome."
City Manager Bob Boyette said he could not determine who owns the land there. He said the county's tax records were not much help in finding the owner.
Councilman Billy Martin said he hopes the place could be cleaned up and restored to a place of respect and dignity.
"I would have to been a little boy the last time I was there," he said. "I would certainly be willing to be a part of any effort to clean it up."
Martin said folks interested in taking better care of the old Morehead Cemetery could contact him. Maybe a committee could be formed to look after it, he added.
"I would want to be a part of that," he said.