<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1FWYDR_0vl60En300" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1FWYDR_0vl60En300" width="1320" height="743" >The News 12 Investigates team heard from some of you in Pamlico County where a logging project got too close for comfort to a long abandoned cemetery.There are private burial sites all over eastern North Carolina, many more than 100 years old.With increased logging and development, we wanted to know what protections are in place for these undocumented cemeteries – where history is overgrown, but not forgotten.We brought your questions to the state and to the people responsible for the logging.It started with concerns about logging in the Maribel communitySome neighbors told us they have loved ones buried near the site.Now we take you where history is overgrown but not forgotten.From the road, the area may look like just a normal patch of woods, but a closer look shows there’s something more.James Ashe, a concerned neighbor, described what happened<blockquote>Nature had done take it over.</blockquote>We’re in Pamlico County, specifically, NC-304 in Bayboro, where loggers came to thin trees.Someone living nearby tipped us off to the problem.We asked a timber buyer if he'd ever seen a situation like this:<blockquote>No, I’ve never. I’ve run across grave sites in the woods that I didn’t know were there.</blockquote>Meet Ronnie Brinson.He’s a timber buyer.“We thinned it according to the contract. And the land owner, consultant forester, we’re very happy with the results.”The News 12 Investigates team found this parcel of land is under the forest management plan.Records also show there is a cemetery here long overgrown.The problem for loggers and developers: there are cemeteries like this all over Eastern North Carolina and for many there is very little if any information available about their exact whereabouts.County resources don’t reveal much about this property.In one email, we were told the indication of a cemetery could even be a mistakeSo, we went and looked for ourselves and we found it.This is the Bob Jones Cemetery.Ashe told us about some of the things he'd hear about it: “I’ll hear some people tell me that they can remember when you could ride by and you could look all the way over the cemetery and whatnot. And to tell me there was a lot of graves in the area.”Some markers date back to the 1920’s.It’s not uncommon to see a private or community cemetery in a rural area. Less than half a mile up the road, there’s this one with even similar markers as we found in the woods.Ronnie says no one told him about it until after the project started, “It was an area that we weren’t ever going into to start with. And the sell area has been marked with pink and black flag and all the way around so. The last thing the logger or any timber company wants to do is disrupt the cemetery.”Despite a small creek buffer, some people living nearby feel their loved ones should be better protected."It’s sort of kind of like they’re taking a part of your life," Ashe told us.Georgiana Wilds, a neighbor, spoke about graves, “They have loved ones still alive. Some of them do. And we need to do something. Just, you know, just don’t throw them away.”That’s where state law comes in.Melissa Timo, Office of State Archaeology Historic Cemetery Specialist, described the condition of areas like these, especially underground:<blockquote>What’s on the surface, especially in an old cemetery or a cemetery attached to a community like an enslaved community, will never match what’s underground. The stuff underground lingers a lot longer.</blockquote>But even then it isn’t a simple answer, says Timo, “Do we go to the county commissioners? Do we go to the police to get permission? Who do we go to if there’s nobody there? And that is a hole in the statutes right now that I would love it to be re-readdressed, especially as North Carolina goes through this rapid period development where a lot of these old properties aren’t in their original condition anymore.”What we do know is that markers are legally protected.The thing is they may not always look like what you see in newer cemeteries, according to Timo, “So things like plain field stones, plain rocks, or things like periwinkle or Vinca or plants like that might only come up in the spring that mark a grave like daffodil bulbs, those things, even though they are not granite or marble markers, are acting as markers. And so, as such, they are protected under North Carolina General Statutes.”The logging near Bob Jones cemetery is over now."I guess they didn’t have no plans of coming back and cleaning up nothing or moving nothing," Ashe said.But as leftover stumps and branches settle, Brinson says, “It’s very common to end it with some slash like this. This stuff will rot down in a few years. You won’t even know it’s here. Any landowner has any kind of concern or questions, we’d be glad to meet you out on the track of timber or come by our office and talk about it.”A call grows for action, as Douglas Persall, a neighbor, explains, “I’m hoping that we can find some more markers back there, but I know the indication that there’re more graves back there from all the craters and stuff like that. Some people might start now to start, you know, like researching for their loved ones, and the community could get like, interested and do a survey in the area.”“With a sign there and whatnot, and maybe somebody come along, maybe they’ll know that that area is a cemetery," Ashe said.Timo spoke about the importance of cemeteries, “A cemetery contains human beings who lived in the past and helped create the communities that we have today. And so even if we don’t know their name, they all deserve respect.”If you find a cemetery, you’re encouraged to contact the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.Although the state keeps this registry it is by no means exhaustive with many old family cemeteries that are undocumented.They can help you understand what you see and some next steps to take.If you have something you want the News 12 Investigates Team to look into call, text or e-mail us as we hold the powerful accountable.Call/Text: (252) 571-9209Email: iTeam@WCTI12.com</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

News 12 Investigates: NC law gaps exposed as development encroaches on historic cemeteries

The News 12 Investigates team heard from some of you in Pamlico County where a logging project got too close for comfort to a long abandoned cemetery. There are private burial sites all over eastern North Carolina, many more than 100 years old. With increased logging and development, we wanted...