Central Kentucky 
African American 
Cemetery Association, Inc

PO Box 597, Danville, KY  40422 (New Address)

Visit our "eMuseum", containing information and 
photos of artifacts we have found at Shelby City and White Oak Cemeteries
Credit to Daniel Thompson, for photos and organization

Also, we have separate Facebook pages for several of the cemetery projects:

The purpose of this Association is to locate, preserve, and maintain African-American cemeteries in central Kentucky -- including Boyle, Casey, Garrard, Lincoln and Mercer Counties. There is SO much work to do.  We began with Shelby City, Givens (Turnersville), and White Oak (Bryantsville) Cemeteries, but recently have concentrated on Meadow Lane and Wilsonville.

Anyone, anywhere, with an interest in preserving these cemeteries is welcome to join our organization.  No commitment is required, but your time, labor, or donations are welcome.  We recognize that not everyone can tromp over fields and through woods with chainsaws in hand, summer and winter, so donations are gladly accepted.

Our ten years' work at Shelby City has finally resulted in clearing the entire cemetery, and arranged for ongoing maintenance with Lincoln County, which has been sidetracked by the COVID-19 pandemic, so for the near future, we're back to doing all the work ourselves.  .  Maintenance still needs to be done, as tree branches fall on a regular basis, but the cemetery has been saved.  Our needs now are to finish fencing along the back and side to prevent trespassers from driving through the cemetery, and to clarify which of three surveys is the "correct" one.

In December, 2018, the Meadow Lane African American Cemetery was surveyed, and the plat was registered with the Boyle County Clerk's office.  The CKAACA took ownership of  Meadow Lane (as well as Shelby City African American Cemetery), and has thus preserved this historic resting place for future generations.  We have now worked with the City of Danville, which has taken over ownership and maintenance of the cemetery and Kilby Lane, leading to the cemetery.

Beginning in the summer of 2019, we concentrated on Meadow Lane and Wilsonville.  Thanks to a descendant of Miss Ella Marshall, long-time teacher in Wilsonville and Boyle County, we have secured permission to work on the cemetery from the owners, the African Methodist Episcopal church offices in Lexington.  Also, in October 2020, that descendant secured a beautiful gravestone for Miss Marshall, which was dedicated at a memorial service in the Wilsonville Cemetery.

Beginning in January 2020, mapping began of all available gravestones, fieldstones, and other grave markers at Hilldale Cemetery in Danville.  This project, identifying over 4,000 graves by section, row, and grave, was essentially finished by the beginning of June, with over 1,300 other known burials, for whom we have no markers.

BOYLE COUNTY
Andrews Graveyard
Atoka
Christopher Burial Place
Clifton
Hilldale
Little Needmore (aka Needmore)
## Meadow Lane
Meauxtown 
Meigs Lane 
Mitchellsburg 
Perryville Springhill
## Shelby City
Stony Point
Taylor-Aliceton Af Am Cem
## Wilsonville 
Worldstown (aka Baker)
Zion Hill (aka Persimmon Knob)

CASEY COUNTY
Liberty Colored Cem
Sulphur Run Cem
** Wilkinson Colored Cem

GARRARD COUNTY
** Buckeye Cem
Davistown
** Flatwoods Baptist Ch
John Sleet Cem, Lancaster
Lancaster African-American Cemetery
Soaper Cem, Lancaster
St James AME (McMurtry), Buena Vista
Walker-Simpson (White Oak)
White Oak Cem (White Oak)

LINCOLN COUNTY
Barrows Cemetery
** Black Pike (Sugar Hill)
Blue Lick Cemetery
Eli Simpson Cem, McKinney
Givens Cem, Turnersville
Graves Givens Cem
Greenwood Cem, Stanford
Holy Temple, aka Halls Gap Pentecostal, Hall's Gap
Hustonville Af-Am Cem
Jacobs Chapel Cem, aka Gooch II
McKinney aka Tammer Cem, McKinney
Milton Simpson Cem, McKinney
Moreland-Tucker Cem (aka Bruce Cem), Milledgeville
Pennington Af-Am Cem
Wooley Cem, Hubble

MARION COUNTY
Star Bethel Cem, Riley

MERCER COUNTY
Dividing Ridge Af Am Cem, Mayo
Robinson Row(e) or Road, Burgin

Kentucky Cemetery Law (PDF), 
Updated as of 24 Oct 2015

Board Meeting Minutes, 5 Dec 2022:

The CKAACA met at the History Center, 108 North Second Street, Monday, 5 December 2022, with members Mike Denis, James Hunn, Cindy Peck and Bill Stocker attending.

1.  President James Hunn called the meeting to order at 7:05 P.M.

2.  Last month’s secretary’s and treasurer’s reports were read and approved.  

3.  Cindy noted that Centre College has $500 they can spend for cemetery maintenance.  Also on 1 April 2023, they will be hosting volunteers from four other colleges, and will take care of transportation and food for the volunteers to work in cemeteries.

4.  We discussed the design of the shelters to be built at both Hilldale and Bellevue.

5.  Comparing our cemetery records at Hilldale, and the Bellevue records done by Bill and Beulah Jones several years ago, neither of which has been accepted by the City of Danville, the city Cemetery Committee will move at their next meeting that the corrected and updated records be accepted officially by the city.  Mike will get two copies of Hilldale records to city clerk Ashley Raider, and has agreed to keep the spreadsheet as up to date as possible with new burials.  He will also send Bill Stocker, chair of the city committee, a copy of the work done by the Joneses at Bellevue.

6.  Bill reported on the status of our cemeteries:

Meadow Lane:  The City will be filling in the swales at Meadow Lane to make mowing easier.  We need to mark the heads of those swales before that work is done.

Wilsonville:  Everything is going fine there.

Shelby City:  More trailers are going in to the west.  

Mike has applied for a new grant of $1000 which, if approved, will allow us to fence in the back and part of the west side.  We will know on or about 16 December if we were successful.

Bill re-set William Scott’s headstone at Shelby City after it had been knocked over by a truck driving through the cemetery.

Hilldale:  Placing row markers was discussed.  They are necessary, but the city isn’t seeing the situation our way.

Aliceton:  Mike needs to check to see if Aliceton and the Taylor graveyard have been merged on Find A Grave [Note – they had not, so Mike sent in a request to do so]

7.  The next meeting was set for Monday, 2 January at 1:00 pm, so people won’t have to be out at night during the winter.

8.  The meeting adjourned at about 8:45.

The CKAACA met at the History Center, 108 North Second Street, at 7:00 P.M. Friday, October 28, 2022, with members Mike Denis, Charles Grey, Cindy Peck and Bill Stocker attending.

1.  VP Bill Stocker called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M.

2.  Last month’s secretary’s and treasurer’s reports were read and approved.

3.  Bill noted that this organization has no way at present to gain any income, and that we need to look into some sort of fundraising event(s).  T-shirts, coffee mugs, and other ideas were suggested, but nothing was decided.

4.  Mike Denis explained what had happened to our grant request through the Kentucky African American Heritage Commission.  We did not receive funding, but through no fault of our own.

5.  Bill reported on the status of our cemeteries:

            Meadow Lane:  The City of Danville has done an excellent job of preserving our work on this historic cemetery.  It now takes its place with Bellevue and Hilldale and is properly maintained.  In addition, there will be THREE signs placed, one at Lebanon Road, one on Cowan Street, and a third at the cemetery itself.  Isaac Moore’s historic headstone has been secured to keep it from falling over.

            Wilsonville:  With fall and dry weather, mowing is less of a concern now.  There is no new news on the process of selling the cemetery, school, and church.

            Shelby City:  Again, no changes here, except that Bill has purchased more PVC pipe for marking fieldstones, and has added two new markers, with many more to go.  Several trees have been cut, and sawn into stove-length firewood, which magically has disappeared, hopefully helping some family with heating a home.

            Hilldale:  No changes here.  Josh Morgan noted that the shelters planned for here and Bellevue will probably both be constructed at the same time, in the interests of efficiency and cost.

6.  With Veteran’s Day approaching, discussion turned to flags at the cemeteries.  After much discussion about how to prevent flags from blowing or falling over, it was voted to place flags on Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day, but to remove them about 10 days after the holiday.  That way the cemetery flags won’t look abandoned or forlorn, and we will have the flags for the next holiday.

7.  Bill has also been researching the Aliceton and Taylor cemeteries in the western portion of the county, and has come to the conclusion that they are one and the same.  We will ask Find A Grave to "merge” the two cemeteries.  We also need to get out there to probe around the Taylor gravestone, as there are probably more burials there.

8.  The meeting adjourned about 8:30.

Respectfully submitted, Michael J Denis Secretary, CKAACA Inc

The CKAACA met at the History Center, 108 North Second Street, at 7:00 pm on Monday, 1 August, with members Bill Stocker, Mike Denis, and Charles Grey. President James Hunn was unable to attend. 

The minutes of the last meeting were read and accepted (Stocker/Grey).

VP Bill Stocker called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m, then gave an update on cemeteries and our work there.

1.  Hot weather is hampering cemetery work.

2.  Pre-COVID, Centre College students were a great help; now, we need to get that help back, in the form of small groups -- 30 student coming in a bus is wonderful, but it is not manageable.

3.  We MUST have student helpers sign liability forms, which Cindy reported she has.

4.  Meadow Lane -- On 16 Jul about 1/3 of the area was cleaned, but it is now on hold until the weather breaks.

5.  Bill has now mowed both Wilsonville and Shelby City ten times. 

6.  At Wilsonville, a small tree fell on a gravestone, but did no damage; as Bill did not have his chain saw with him, he did not remove the tree.

7.  Rich Westerfield is still trying to get his lawyer to go ahead with the Wilsonville quit-claim deed.

8.  Shelby City needs limbs to be picked up, a possible task for Centre students.  No damage has been noted at all.

9.  Bill has three string trimmers at his house, but has not had a chance to work on them yet.

10.  Regarding the proposed shelter at Hilldale (and Bellevue), John Carman finally got the plans right, and the Danville Cemetery Committee approved the drawings.  It will be spring, however, before anything can really be done on the structure.  It will be a 40' by 40' pad, with the shelter itself being 30' by 30', with a 60 space columbarium included.

11.  The next meeting was set for Monday, 5 September, at the History Center at 7:00 p.m.

12.  The meeting was adjourned at about 8:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Mike Denis, Secretary

The CKAACA met at the History Center, 108 North Second Street, at 1:00 pm on Wednesday, 1 July, with members Bill Stocker, Mike Denis, Charles Grey, Cindy Peck, and Barry Sanborn present. President James Hunn was unable to attend.  We were later joined by Linda Warren and Centre College intern April Medina (who was opening the History Center from 2:00 to 6:00 today).

VP Bill Stocker called the meeting to order at 1:06 p.m.

It was immediately moved and seconded (Stocker/Peck) to have future meetings at 7:00 p.m. and the next meeting was set for Monday, 1 August 2022 at that time in the History Center.

The minutes of the last meeting were read and accepted (Peck/Grey).

Cindy reported that after paying the IRS bill for non-profit incorporation, we have $1,039.53 in the treasury, not the $899 that was reported last month.

Mike Denis reported that he had spoken to Dr. Alicetyne Turley, of the Kentucky African American Heritage Commission, about grants to preserve cemeteries.  We will, of course, look into that.

VP Bill Stocker then gave an extensive update on county African American cemeteries.

1.  Meadow Lane -- it is not being mowed by the city which makes the city look bad.  However, mowing without knowing where stones are can be damaging to the stones.  It was agreed with the city manager that Bill will supervise the mowing crew.  HOWEVER, since the city does not yet have ownership documentation, we as an organization will probably end up doing some mowing and weed-eating anyway.

2.  Both Shelby City and Wilsonville have been mowed now eight times.  Bill still refuses to accept gas money from the Association!

3.  At Shelby City, a neighbor has apparently put the fear of God into the teenage boys who were vandalizing the cemetery.

3.  Wilsonville looks good.  Rick Westerfield will meet with his lawyer later this month to execute a quit-claim deed for the cemetery, the church, and the school.  The schoolhouse was discussed, and Bill reported that the school was built in 1867, and then used as a site for fundraising to build the church.  There is NO record of a deed of sale for the school, unlike several other Black schools in the County.

4.  Bill reported that Eliza Napier, who died in 2012, is buried in Bellevue Cemetery.  Linda Warren knows of two other Blacks buried there.

5.  At the Danville Cemetery Committee meeting, new revised drawings for the shelter at Hilldale were being drawn up.  The mix-up over the design has caused the project to become well behind schedule.

6.  At Aliceton, Bill reported that George Taylor's great grand-daughter has agreed to talk with him about what we believe is the Aliceton Cemetery, probably also known as the Taylor Burying Ground.

Bill also shared with us the website, "SavingGraves.net" which attempts to catalog cemeteries in danger of being lost.  Two in Boyle County were specifically mentioned -- the McGinniss Family Cemetery, on Webster Road, and the Gaines Family Cemetery, at 594 Wells Landing Road.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:32 p.m., after which we spent another 45 minutes in socializing and enjoying each others' company.

Respectfully submitted,
Mike Denis Secretary

The CKAACA met at the History Center, 108 North Second Street, at 1:00 pm on Wednesday, 1 June, with members Bill Stocker, Mike Denis, Charles Grey, Cindy Peck, and Barry Sanborn present. President James Hunn was unable to attend.

VP Bill Stocker called the meeting to order.

1. After spending $275 for the 501(c)(3) application, we have $899 left in the treasury. The application to the IRS was APPROVED, so now we are an official non-profit charitable foundation.

2. Bill made several reports on cemeteries.

A. There is no progress on the shelter at Hilldale, as the plans that came back from the designer were nothing like the design the Cemetery Committee presented.

B. Hilldale -- There are new section signs for Sections A through F.

C. The Danville Cemetery Committee is reviewing and updating cemetery rules for both Hilldale and Bellevue.

D. Row signs at Hilldale may be coming soon. Once that is accomplished, the updated records the CKAACA developed will become much more functional.

E. Wilsonville -- Bill string trimmed and flagged the cemetery for Memorial Day.

F. Shelby City -- Bill will be there this coming Friday (3 June) and would appreciate the help as there are still many limbs down.

Also, a neighbor saw some teenage boys in the cemetery, and she mentioned that law enforcement had been notified.

Mike and Barry flagged Shelby City and Meigs. Bill and Cindy mowed and string-trimmed there before Memorial Day.

G. Meadow Lane -- The City of Danville has not yet had a deed written up for this cemetery, which they accepted nearly a year ago. In the meantime, assuming that the city was going to maintain the cemetery, Bill has not, and now the vegetation is too high to be mowed, so we're almost back where we started four years ago. The cemetery MUST be string-trimmed to avoid damaging stones through mowing.

3. Possible renovation of the historic Withers Cemetery (white) was discussed. We may need to meet with the Boyle County Genealogical and Historical Society to see if we can combine efforts on this cemetery as our members are getting too old to do a great deal of physical work now.

4. The next meeting was set for Friday, 1 July 2022 at 1:00 at the History Center.

Respectfully submitted,
Mike Denis Secretary

The CKAACA met at the History Center, 108 North Second Street, at 1:00 pm on Friday, 29 April, with members James Hunn, Bill Stocker, Mike Denis, Cindy Peck, and Charles Grey present.

1.  The minutes of last month’s meeting were distributed, and it was moved (Peck/Grey) to accept them.

2.  There were no updates on erecting a barrier on the north side of Shelby City cemetery.  However, discussion moved to whether we really want to do that, which could cause vehicles to drive through the west side, which is now all cleaned out.  Apparently, the person who was driving through and doing damage has moved, so maybe this may not be the issue it was last month.

3.  The question came up about whether we could rent ground-penetrating radar (GPR) equipment.  Bill mentioned that our intern last fall with the DBCAAHS said that Centre had such equipment.  We will investigate that option for scanning Shelby City at least.

4.  The application for 501(c)(3) will be done after this meeting.  It was moved (Stocker/Peck) to authorize $275 for the fee.  [NOTE:  After the meeting we were not able to log on to the IRS website, so Mike Denis will do it at home this evening, paying with his credit card and expecting reimbursement from the CKAACA.

5.  Bill gave his report on cemeteries.

        A.  Shelby City and Wilsonville have been mowed twice, but there are still limbs at Shelby City that need to be taken care of.

        B.  Rick Westerfield is working on getting the Wilsonville property surveyed.  Much discussion ensued over what his plans are for both the Wilsonville school and Wilson Chapel.

        C.  We still need to do more research to locate Black churches near the Shelby City cemetery.  There were at least two – a Baptist, and an AME church, but exactly WHERE they were located is the issue.

        D.  The Danville Cemetery Committee’s next meeting will be 12 May.  Bill noted a change in focus of that committee from a group that almost exclusively dealt with Bellevue Cemetery, to one which now includes Hilldale as well.

6.  For Memorial Day, Mike will purchase enough flags to place on veteran’s graves at Shelby City, Wilsonville, Meigs, Meadow Lane, and Clifton.  James Hunn offered to reimburse the costs.  Bill and Cindy will place flags at Wilsonville, and Mike will do the rest.

7.  James mentioned a Civil War gravestone for a Mr. Davis – the only stone – off Waterworks Road in Danville.  Mike wondered if this would have been in the former Meauxtown settlement – of which we have three recorded, but unlocated graves – Mitchell “Uncle Mitch” Gunn, ? – 1893; William B Meaux, 1846-1912, and Ben Tubble, ? – 1927.

8.  The next meeting was set for Wednesday, 1 June, at 1:00 pm at the History Center.

Respectfully submitted,
Mike Denis, Secretary

CKAACA, 1:00 PM, History Center
Present - James Hunn, Bill Stocker, Mike Denis, Cindy Peck, Max Gideon, Charles Grey, Glahens Paul, Barry Sanborn

1. President James Hunn called the meeting to order.

2. Cindy Peck reported $1214.53 in the treasury.

3. Discussion turned to the need for some sort of barrier in the back of the Shelby City African American cemetery.

     A. Some type of farm fencing was discussed first.
     B. Then discussion moved to catching the perpetrator who is driving through. It was decided that preventing this from happening was more important than catching who is doing it, due to the possibility of retaliation against the entire cemetery.
     C. Max Gideon suggested that we might be able to obtain some stone blocks from Albright's quarry, to be placed along the back. Moved and seconded (Stocker/Peck) to investigate that possibility. James Hunn and Max will investigate.

4. Mike Denis mentioned seeing a type of hand-held ground-penetrating radar he saw on a History channel show. Should we look into that?

5. We need to re-apply for 501(c)(3) status for various reasons. Moved and seconded (Stocker/Peck) to do so. Mike will work on this.

6. Bill reported on the status of other cemeteries.

     A. Wilsonville -- downed limbs are cleared off and it is ready to mow. There is no word on the sale of the cemetery, the church, or the school, though Rick Westerfield wants to rebuild the school.
     B. Shelby City -- many limbs still down, needs cleanup before mowing can begin.
     C. Danville Cemetery Committee -- will be reviewing rules on flowers at both Hilldale and Bellevue.

7. The next meeting was set for 29 April 2022 at 1:00 at the History Center.

Respectfully Submitted,
Michael J Denis, Secretary, CKAACA, LLC

CKAACA, 11:00 AM, History Center
Present - James Hunn, Bill Stocker, Mike Denis, Barry Sanborn

1. Meadow Lane -- 
     After years of trying, and hard work by dozens of volunteers, the City of Danville has finally agreed to take ownership of Meadow Lane. 
     City Attorney Steve Dexter will be drawing up a deed.

2. Shelby City -- 
     Bill has mowed for the 10th time, and noted that we need more PVC pipe to mark new fieldstones that have been found
     We also need to straighten out many of the existing PVC markers, as well as several gravestones. 
     A major question is what to do with leaves that have blown up against the fence along the northeast boundary. 
     Bill is also repairing Lizzie Gooch's stone

3. Mike will contact all the Black churches in Danville to see if we can get some help and support when it comes to maintaining Shelby City in particular.

4. Wilsonville -- 
     Bill has mowed for the 12th time.
     The Boyle County Detention Center sent out a crew to take care of the tree limbs; they also did some string trimming.
     It was moved and seconded (Hunn/Denis) to work with Rick Westerfield on the purchase of the church, school, and cemetery.
     Bill will speak with Bobby Trumbo about the school, since apparently the First Baptist Church owns the land to the west of the schoolhouse.

5. Hilldale -- section signs are on hold due to city maintenance needs after several damaging storms, but the signs are still "in the pipeline."

Respectfully Submitted,
Michael J Denis, Secretary, CKAACA, LLC

Bill Stocker reported on the conditions at local cemeteries.

Shelby City has been mowed now 7 times this season.

Wilsonville has been mowed 9 times, and the tree limbs from earlier this year have been cut and stacked. Bill will contact the jail to see if we can have inmates take it away.

Meadow Lane was the subject of a meeting with Danville City Manager Earl Coffee. We are on the agenda for the city commission's meeting on 12 July at 5:30 pm. The goal, within our reach, is to have the city take over ownership and maintenance of Meadow Lane. Bill will do one final presentation at that meeting.

Respectfully Submitted,
Michael J Denis, Secretary, CKAACA, LLC

Present - J H Atkins, Mike Denis, Charles Grey, Cindy Peck, Bill Stocker

1.  We were honored by guest, Danville City Commission member, James Atkins, whom we updated on the Meadow Lane situation.

2.  The CKAACA in effect, owns Meadow Lane, having had it surveyed in January 2019, and having the plat recorded in the Boyle County Courthouse.

3.  The 8 June Cemetery Committee meeting needs to be attended by as many as possible. Bill will explain why the City needs to take over maintenance of Meadow Lane.

4.  The 14 June City Commission meeting also needs heavy attendance. At that meeting, we will urge the city to take over ownership and maintenance of Meadow Lane. Later, we will need signage to the cemetery on both Lebanon Road and Cowan Street.

5.  At other cemeteries, Shelby City has been mowed for a fourth time.

6.  At Wilsonville Bill has removed branches, mowed, and string-trimmed, noting that some families have already placed new artificial flowers on some graves in advance of Memorial Day.

7.  At Meadow Lane, tree limbs have been removed and the cemetery has been mowed.

8.  At Hilldale, Mike has presented city clerk Ashley Raider with an updated and corrected list of burials, and has transcribed all city records back to 2010, with more to follow. Those records will be posted online until (or unless) we can get a copy into the kiosk at Hilldale.

9.  On Saturday, 29 May, Mike will place flags on veterans' graves at Meadow Lane, Shelby City, and Wilsonville. There are over 250 veterans buried at Hilldale, but we don't have the resources to "flag" all of those graves.

Respectfully submitted,
Mike Denis, Secretary, DBCAAHS

1. Present for all or part of the meeting were Mike Denis, Charles Grey, Michael Hughes, Cindy Peck, Barry Sanborn, and Bill Stocker, 

2. Bill and Mike will meet with Danville city clerk, Ashley Raider, on Friday, 7 May, to present her with our work on Hilldale Cemetery records.

3. Cemetery reports:
    a. Wilsonville, almost all limbs have been taken care of. There is a cherry tree down over the Walker stones but there is no damage. It has been mowed 3 times, and needs it about once a week
    b. Shelby City needs string trimming 
    c. Meadow Lane needs a work day for limbs and mowing

4. Bill reported on a Daveiss County controversy over the confederate statue on city property. Apparently the United Daughters of the Confederacy own the statue, and is objecting to the removal. It may be a similar situation here in Danville.

5. Charles will research Wilsonville school students who are still alive, in an effort to acknowledge them and their elementary school.

6. Also, Charles will offer $25 each for four coat hangers from the Wilsonville school, for a friend whose whole family attended there. Mike will bring up his proposal at the next DBCAAHS meeting on 11 May.

7. Charles is also researching teacher, Susie B (Rochester) Fish -- if anyone has information on her, please send it to Charles.

8. We apparently need to refile IRS application for non profit status. We had filed and paid the fee, but Cindy received a rebate check with no other explanation, and we can not find that we are recorded as a 501(c)(3) corporation.

Respectfully submitted,
Mike Denis, Secretary, DBCAAHS

1. Bill and Cindy have taken 5 truckloads of branches and limbs to the convenience center since last month.
2. County insurance won't cover Lincoln County inmates mowing as long as the state is under an emergency declaration, according to Judge Adams.
3. Bill will plan to mow on Tuesday, 6 April.

Wilsonville:
1. Bill, Cindy and Mike worked on branches last Wednesday. Hopefully, Boyle inmates can come and haul those away.
2. Bill will mow this Wednesday, 7 April.

Meadow Lane:
1. Low priority on mowing, as it only needed to be done twice last year.
2. Some branches and limbs are down and need removal.
3. Need to approach the City on taking over ownership and maintenance.

Hilldale:
1. Need to meet with Ashley Raider about records.

Respecfully submitted,
Michael J Denis, Secretary, CKAACA, LLC

Present for all or part of the meeting were James and Ethel Hunn, Bill Stocker, Cindy Peck, and Mike Denis.
Bill gave a report on each of the cemeteries:

• At Shelby City, there are lots of limbs down. Mike asked if we could get Lincoln County to burn the brush or if we could get permission to do it.

• Also at Shelby City, the property owner next to the cemetery has told Bill that we can have the huge double-length railroad ties, and that she will even contract with the bulldozer operator to place those along the back line of the cemetery to prevent traffic from going through. One Civil War headstone near the back has been knocked nearly over by a vehicle driving through. Bill also suggested planting cedar trees as a hedge along the back line.

• At Meadow Lane, again, there will be lots of limbs down. We need to meet with Ashley Raider to see about getting on the City Commission agenda to present our PowerPoint on this cemetery, and to discuss with her the records we have created for Hilldale Cemetery.

• At Wilsonville, there may be lots of limbs down in the woods, but the “lily pond” will make mowing difficult until that dries up.

In other business:

• We need to set up an interview with Rev. Everhart Walker who can tell us all about the Wilson Chapel, and the Wilsonville School.

• We also need to videotape and fully document the Wilsonville School while it is somewhat standing.

• Bill brought up the idea of getting our historic cemeteries on the National Register. Mike will research that through Tressa Brown in Frankfort.

• We are somewhat confused as to the “chain of command” at City Hall. We need to know who to talk to in order to get things done.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael J Denis, Secretary, CKAACA, LLC

Central Kentucky African American Cemetery Association
Minutes, Meeting 7 November 2020, Shelby City African American Cemetery

Meadow Lane -- 
1. Bill and Cindy took two loads of branches to the Alum Springs Convenience Center, and Bill mowed for a third time this year.
2. We need to put more pressure on the City of Danville to take over maintenance of the cemetery
3. It would be a good idea to do a slide show for the City Commission pointing out that we have done all the work needed to preserve the cemetery.

Shelby City -- 
1. Bill mowed Tuesday, 3 November, for the 14th time this year, and picked up limbs.
2. We would like to get the 10 x 10 double railroad ties next door to the cemetery moved to the back of the cemetery to prevent people from driving through.

Hilldale -- 
1. We still need to meet with Ashley Raider to share what we have done regarding the records at Hilldale.
2. Bill will talk with new sexton Orville Napier at the Cemetery Committee meeting on Tuesday, 10 November, regarding our wishes for Hilldale.

Wilsonville -- 
1. Bill mowed there for the 14th time.
2. We need to get vines out, and do some thinning on the east side of the cemetery.

General --
1. For Veteran's Day, we need to come up with the number of flags needed to mark veteran's graves.
2. Our next meeting will be 5 December 2020 at the History Center, 108 North Second St, Danville, time TBA.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael J Denis, Secretary, CKAACA, LLC

The Central Kentucky African American Cemetery Association, LLC, met at the Shelby City African American Cemetery at 9:30 AM on 1 September 2020, with four members present.

Items discussed included:

WILSONVILLE: 
The Boyle Monument Company will set a gravestone for Miss Ella Marshall soon. Laverne Davie has paid for the stone, to honor her relative, and an institution in Boyle County education.

Also, there is a large brush pile there. With a jail crew out today in Junction City, we wonder if they can help us get rid of the pile, as they have helped in the past.

MEADOW LANE: 
There are many limbs down that are preventing Bill Stocker from mowing, so we need a work session there just to pick up and pile limbs.

SHELBY CITY: 
The question arose if we have a deed for the cemetery -- we DO have a surveyed plat which we were told at one time was as good as a deed. Cindy Peck will check with Dave Gambrel, Lincoln Co PVA. Cindy will also check to see if Lincoln jail inmates can resume care of Shelby City.

HILLDALE:
Bill Stocker and Mike Denis met with Danville city clerk Ashley Raider to update her on the progress of Hilldale records. She will allow us to see the original city records -- question -- can we photograph (without flash) those records?

The updating and correcting of the Hilldale records is almost done. They will never be complete, but what we will present to the City will be better than what they have ever had.

OTHER:
Bill Stocker noted that the Confederate statue in McDowell Park is owned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, NOT the City, and NOT the Presbyterian Church. That issue alone could cause issues with having the statue moved.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael J Denis, Secretary, CKAACA, LLC

CKAACA met at 10:00 am at the DBCAAHS History Center, 108 North Second Street, with four members present.

From a recent meeting of the Danville Cemetery Committee, Bill Stocker explained what is going on with the Confederate Statue on the grounds of the Presbyterian Church. There are numerous plans and avenues to explore, but the Danville Cemetery Committee basically turned the issue over to the City Commission to work with the Church to develop a solution. Issues include potential vandalism of the statue and Confederate graves at Bellevue, and possible damage to the roads in Bellevue.

Mike Denis reported on the progress of the repair and restoration of the Doram gravestones at Hilldale. The release form has been sent out to five descendants, and McKinley Monuments of Campbellsville has been contacted, requesting a quotation in writing for the price of the work. As soon as three release forms have been returned, McKinley will be contacted to actually DO the work.

Bill showed pictures of the proposed shelters at both Hilldale and Bellevue -- the shelter in Harrodsburg has been chosen as the model.  The shelter would be a very attractive addition to Hilldale if done the way the one in Harrodsburg is designed.

Bill and Mike met with Danville City Engineer John Cassel and Danville's Public Works Director Rick Henry last Monday and we discussed the following:

(1) Briefly discussed Cemetery Sexton Jason Turner's resignation.
(2) Asked that Danville place section markers in Hilldale. Rick agreed, and asked us to let him know how many markers will be needed.
(3) Discussed legalities of removing headstones. The city has no problem with this, since the plots are considered private property. They were asked to be notified, just because...
(4) John told us the city will need to haul in lots of fill dirt to build up the land that the city purchased, located across Duncan Hill Road, before burials can take place.
(5) Showed John and Rick the comparison of burial records between the city and Mike's spreadsheet. They were impressed. Our goal is to get the city to accept Mike's work which will be more accurate by far, but there was no commitment.

Section and row signs at Hilldale were discussed. We will recommend a sign every ten rows to list both the section and the row number ("B 20"), green background with white lettering, mounted on a green metal fence post or a metal pipe, kept fairly short, the sign itself being about 5" by 9" so as not to overshadow the cemetery. Doing a sign at row 1, then every 10 rows would require:

Going every 10 rows would require 21 Signs:
A (16 rows) - 2 signs, 1 and 10
B (64 rows) - 7 signs, 1, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60
C (47 rows) - 5 signs, 1, 10, 20, 30, 40
D (23 rows) - 3 signs, 1, 10, 20
E (9 rows) - 2 signs), 1 and 9
County (18 rows), 2 signs, 1, 10

Going every 20 rows would only require 15 Signs:
A - 2 signs at 1 and 16
B - 4 signs at 1, 20, 40, and 60
C - 3 signs at 1, 20, and 40
D - 2 signs at 1 and 20
E - 2 signs at 1 and 9
County, 2 signs at 1 and 18

Cindy Peck noted a donation from Alpha Delta Pi sorority at Centre College -- which is very much appreciated.

After these discussions, we looked over the room, began thinking of what could go where, and what improvements could be made.

The next meeting was NOT set, but will probably be either the first or second Saturday in September.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael J Denis, Secretary, CKAACA, LLC

We met at the Shelby City African American Cemetery at 10AM on Saturday, July 11, for a breakfast and work meeting. Since we were outdoors in the wonderful breeze at Shelby City, and since we social-distanced, we believe were safe in these pandemic days. Present were Cindy Peck, Bill Stocker, Barry Sanborn, and Mike Denis.

Bill had noted that the Facebook "page" for the Shelby City African American Cemetery did not have a "join" button, as did other cemeteries. The issue, which Mike researched, is that Shelby City is a "page" and the others are "groups." So, a new Facebook "Group" -- Shelby City African American Cemetery -- was set up . The URL is https://www.facebook.com/groups/635029120440435/

We discussed the status of several area cemeteries.

Wilsonville -- Ronnie Letcher joined us last week, and has offered to help keep Wilsonville mowed. Rev. Everhart Walker surprised us with a visit, and showed us where Hubert Walker's wife and daughter are buried -- both marked only with fieldstones, but now memorialized on Find A Grave. Also he showed us where his grandparents, Johnson and Mary (Andrews) Walker, are buried (also now on Find A Grave), and his great-grandfather, Horace Walker, who was born into slavery, and is now memorialized on Find A Grave as well. That one visit added three new people, and five new photographs.

Meadow Lane -- Little work needs to be done here, but we need to keep on the City of Danville about taking over ownership. We can offer to continue maintaining it.

Hilldale -- The repair and resetting of the Dennis and Diademia Doram stones is progressing. We would like the City of Danville to place markers at the ends of probably every tenth row, so people can find their relatives and ancestors more easily. What to do with our accurate mapping of Hilldale and its records, and how to get the City to accept them, was discussed.

Discussion then turned to the new "home" for the Danville Boyle County African American Historical Society, at 108 North Second Street, but that discussion is not pertinent to the aims and objectives of this organization.

After the meeting adjourned, we spent another several hours weed-whacking, trimming, brush cutting, and doing general landscaping. Bill has been mowing the cemetery, and we will be back Monday, Jul 13, for another work session, again, weather permitting.

The next meeting will again be at Shelby City African American Cemetery, because it's always cool there, and there's always work to be done there -- Saturday, August 9, 2020, at 10:00 AM, weather permitting.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael J Denis, Secretary, CKAACA, LLC

Present were Mike Denis, Ben Lindsay, Cindy Peck, Barry Sanborn, and Bill Stocker.

One of the first items of business was a decision to elect a Vice-President. Mike Denis nominated (seconded by Cindy Peck) Bill Stocker. Bill is the obvious choice since he has become a mover and shaker when it comes to African American cemetery care in the area.

Mike gave a status report on mapping Hilldale Cemetery, and addressed the need for the city to share sexton Jason Turner's spreadsheet of burials there.

Bill will send out an email noting where he plans to work several days in advance, so we can plan to join him. For years, this was an every Saturday event, but since almost all of us are now retired we can volunteer any time the weather is decent.

Mike reported on the status of the Doram stone "GoFundMe" drive. So far, $170 has been raised to repair and reset the stones at Hilldale Cemetery.

As Lincoln County will not be able to help mow Shelby City as they have in the past, we may need to hire help. Mike noted that a post on Facebook listed several Black-owned landscaping businesses in the area.

Bill gave an update on Wilsonville and the progress of Laverne Davie purchasing the church, school, and cemetery, and noted that Rick Westerfield is helping mow the are around the church.

Cindy will apply for federal non-profit 501(c)(3) status this week.

We need to mark every 10th row, or so, in Hilldale so people can find graves. It was suggested that we ask the City to go half with us on the cost. We need to decide the design, and find a manufacturer.

We need to contact the City about uprighting some of the stones that have fallen face down, and are thus unidentifiable. Whose permission would we need to do that?

It was also decided to meet monthly on a Saturday during the summer, at a cemetery of Bill's choosing, so we can meet then work.

Finally, the qustion we have had for many years now, what can we do to encourage more Black involvement? How can we get more Black help? Right now, it's almost all whites doing the work, because it needs to be done. But it would be wonderful if Black churches could step up and help, or even take the lead.

Our next meeting will be Saturday, 11 July at Shelby City, unless otherwise announced.

Respectfully submitted,
Mike Denis, Secretary, President Pro-Tem

The called meeting of the Central Kentucky African American Cemetery Association was held in the Mahan Gallery of the Boyle County Public Library, at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, 1 October 2019.  Present were  James Hunn, Mike Denis, Cindy Peck, and Bill Stocker.

Meadow Lane African American Cemetery – 

The Danville City Commission is waiting for us to give them the plat of the Cemetery.  James Hunn will take courthouse’s copy to Steven Dexter, the Danville city attorney, and if need be, we can probably get another copy from Estes Surveying.

When the City officially takes over the Cemetery, We need to do some sort of transfer ceremony, with a re-dedication, to be covered by local press.

The new deed for Meadow Lane MUST include tarring Kilby Lane as a city street, as per the city attorney’s ruling from 1994.  If it is a city cemetery, it should be accessible by a city street.

Wilsonville African American Cemetery – 

We need to support Laverne Davie on the purchase of the Wilsonville church, school, and cemetery property.

We no longer need to communicate with the AME diocese other than expressing our support for her plans.

We will support her in any way we can, provided that we can continue maintaining the Cemetery.

Bill Stocker has a friend who can help take out the large fallen trees.

James Hunn will talk with sheriff to ask the abutting landowner to respect the property AFTER Bill Stocker talks with the abutter.

Bill will send copy of PVA plot to Laverne.

Mitchellsburg African American Cemetery – 

It is owned by Paul Pelley, so we need to get permission from him to work there.  He lives at 11420 Lebanon Rd, telephone 332-7507.

Other:

We need to meet at least quarterly, suggested dates being Jan 2, sometime in April, July, and October, specifics to be determined.  We can have called meetings at any time.

Oct 5, Centre students will be coming to Wilsonville.

Oct 26, EKU Students will be coming to Shelby City – this is our 6^th Anniversary working at Shelby City.

Bonner grants – can they be used for gravestone repair material such as epoxy, cement, D/2, and other needed equipment?  If so, we may be able to apply for two this year, at $500 each.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael J Denis, Secretary, CKAACA, LLC

Members present: Mike Denis, Ben Lindsay, Cindy Peck, Bill Stocker, Daniel Thompson

Treasurer Cindy Peck reported on a phone call from James Hunn who was unable to attend.

President, James Hunn on Monday, 11 February, spoke to each and every Commissioner and the Mayor, who all agreed that if we turn Meadow Lane over to the City, the City will cut trees that interfere with the boundary lines; maintain the cemetery in perpetuity; and maintain Kilby Lane as a city street.

We then discussed a proposed presentation to the City Commission, of no more than 10 minutes, to include the following:

1. A brief history of the Cemetery

2. Benefits to the City -- historical, moral, legal

Preserves local history

Helps improve community relationships by preserving an untold part of our history

Honors veterans from Civil War (Sherwood Barber, Evan Burton, Richard Driscoll, Henry Shaw and World War 1 (George McAfee)

Honors people born in, and dying in slavery, like Isaac Moore, born 1860, last slave born to Charles Moore, and Simon Moore

Listed on African American Historic Sites driving tour

Listed on Boyle Landmarks to Watch

We need to list how many hours community members have spent working here, noting especially that we have living descendants who have helped.

Bill Stocker, playing Devil’s advocate asked the question, how can we guarantee that the city will preserve the unique characteristics of this African American Cemetery?

After lengthy discussion, several other questions arose, including whether we will be able to continue assisting the city in identifying artifacts and restoring graves.

There are certain conditions we must guarantee before turning the Cemetery over to the city – we MUST insist that it be maintained as a typical African-American cemetery:

More naturalized, rather than park-like, as with most traditionally white cemeteries

More trees providing shade and a wooded atmosphere

Maintaining burial swales, rather than total leveling of the grave sites

It was suggested that we give the Commissioners and Mayor a handout on characteristics of African American cemeteries as a guideline.

Now, we need to seek legal advice to guarantee that our wishes are respected by the City. something like...

We cede the Meadow Lane African American Cemetery to the City of Danville, SUBJECT TO THESE CONDITIONS...In order to maintain the unique character of an African American Cemetery, we require the City to agree …

That no trees be cut unless they are dead or threatening to do damage to stones, the fence, or visitors.

That no burial swales be filled in to level them to make mowing easier.

That members of the CKAACA and other volunteers continue to be allowed access to the Cemetery

     A. for the purposes of repairing or resetting gravestones, probing the ground to discover other stones or fieldstone markers, or any other historical research they choose to do.

     B. for periodic clean-up, weed-whacking, and other maintenance issues to assist the city

Respectfully submitted,
Michael J Denis, Secretary, CKAACA, LLC

OLD BUSINESS:

Cindy Peck presented a report on the work done last year at various locations in the area.

1. We logged 1,125 volunteer hours at Shelby City in 2017; no work done in other cemeteries.

2. Total volunteer hours to date, 5,135. This figure includes Shelby City, Givens (Lincoln Co) and White Oak (Garrard Co)

3. We have had 82 Centre students, 12 EKU students, 17 adult volunteers (including 3 from RECC), 1 high school student, and 2 elementary school students working at Shelby City in 2017.

4. We did presentations or tours, or other workshops and meetings, including about 157 audience members

5. On 10 March 2017, a grant from the Bonner Scholars program allowed us to purchase a mower and other tools to help maintain Shelby City.

6. On 11 Oct 2017, volunteers from RECC came in after their work day and took down the huge dead sycamore tree that has plagued us since Oct 2013.

TREASURER’S REPORT: The bank account balance as of the end of 2017 is $1,215.53.

NEW BUSINESS:

1. Discussion and approval of new Directors – Daniel Thompson, a volunteer for over 2 years, has been offered, and has accepted, a position as a Director.

2. The progress of our 501(c)(3) application was discussed. It was pointed out that we have directors but no officers. That was remedied quickly by electing James Hunn, President; Mike Denis, Secretary; and Cindy Peck, Treasurer. The directors include Hunn, Peck, Charles Grey, and Daniel Thompson.

3. Discussion of purchasing Charles Grey’s truck – “the official Shelby City African American Cemetery Maintenance Vehicle.” It was voted to purchase the truck for $1,000, with payment deferred until we can raise the money. It will be registered and insured under Cindy’s name for huge savings in insurance costs, but will be garaged at Charles’s house for convenience.

4. Daniel took on the task of chairing a fundraising committee – as he has numerous contacts, and many good ideas on how to proceed.

5. Presentations to area organizations were also discussed, with the suggestion of going through the Presbyterian Church (which has a very good relationship with Centre), in hopes of involving the historically black churches in our work and efforts. The need for continuing publicity was also noted.

6. Members of the group will meet with the Danville Cemetery Committee at 4:00 pm on Tuesday, 13 March to discuss the situation at Meadow Lane in West Danville. We must meet prior to that meeting to discuss strategies and facts to present to the Committee (see end of this report under “Pertinent Cemetery Laws”).

7. Installation of a fence along the north and west sides of the Shelby City cemetery was discussed. Metal posts and “rabbit fencing” will be installed, and the loan of a trail camera from James Hunn may well “catch” whomever has been using the cemetery as a “pass-through.” More expensive fencing can be just as easily destroyed by vandals as the less expensive material, so it was decided to go with the lesser expense.

8. Mike Denis will contact the owner of the land where the Worldstown/Baker Cemetery is located. Awhile ago, the owner did agree to fence the small cemetery, but that has not happened yet. We need to remind him of that, and offer to help get that accomplished.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael J Denis, Secretary, CKAACA, LLC

1.  NUMBER ONE TOP PRIORITY RIGHT NOW -- FENCING - suggested roll wire fencing along west and north sides, but not near the road.  We need to prevent through-traffic and need to avoid several recent disturbing and dangerous incidents from recurring.

2.  NUMBER TWO PRIORITY - Filling in swales:  We need to (A.)  put a dirt pile on the road in the back corner of the cemetery; (B.)  Rake chipped wood into swales; and (C.)  With Lincoln County crew and Centre volunteers, wheelbarrows are needed

3.  NUMBER THREE PRIORITY - Ground-penetrating radar, Kentucky Archaeological Survey has offered to do it for us.  Need to get on this ASAP.

4.  Centre students -- we have a commitment Aug 27 of 60 students for 2 hours; they will bring their own tools

5.  Cindy will check on dirt for fill

6.  Daniel Thompson from Centre is preparing an e-Museum of artifacts we have found.

7.  Will Vineyard from Centre is interested in researching the effects of integration (positive AND negative) on Danville and Boyle County.

8.  Resetting stones -- Fox Funeral Home of Stanford may be able to help us with those that are broken.  David Gambrel, PVA for Lincoln County, will get Lincoln Boy Scouts to reset those that are in good condition.

9.  Replacing damaged military stones -- James Cohen and Jordan Wallace are first priority.  James Hunn has already submitted an application for Jordan Wallace.

10.  Mike will make markers out of the gray PVC pipe stored at EKU, which will mark fieldstones both for mowing and for memorial purposes.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael J Denis, Secretary, CKAACA, LLC

1. We need to get liability paperwork signed for every volunteer, every week, if necessary. In particular, if we have volunteers under 18, we need parents to sign.

2. Cindy will be printing up membership cards -- don't worry, there are no dues -- if you want to be a member, you ARE a member.

3. We need to do some sort of newsletter for the group.
     Listing the work we are doing
     Encouraging donations (we are a non-profit, LLC)
     Letting people know for what purposes their donations are being used
     Listing some of our needs in the future

4. Develop a brochure, similar to the Shelby City brochure, to tell the CKAACA story.

5. We should get the names of cemetery board members in surrounding counties and /or cities. If there is no cemetery board, we need to get names of city council members or county magistrates.
     Boyle (Danville, Perryville, Junction City),
     Casey (Liberty),
     Garrard (Lancaster),
     Lincoln (Stanford, Crab Orchard), and
     Mercer (Harrodsburg, Burgin).

6. (DONE) We must be up-to-date on the latest cemetery laws, and we need answers to questions like...
     Who owns the cemetery
     What are the responsibilities of the owner
     Is the owner getting a tax write-off for maintaining the cemetery
     If the owner is getting a write-off and NOT maintaining a cemetery, why not?
     How do we get access to private cemeteries

7. We need to contact local newspapers to get press coverage about the CKAACA, and get the word out on what we are doing, not just at Shelby City and Givens.

8. We will need to contact board members mentioned in #5 above, to 
     Tell them of our purposes, accomplishments, and goals for the future.
     Enlighten them, if need be, on current cemetery law and cemetery issues.
     If we can be invited to do a brief presentation, we need to develop one.
     We may need to ask for help removing any slash we cut at the cemeteries.

9. We need to find supporters and allies in state government who can assists us in updating and/or strengthening cemetery laws

Respectfully submitted,
Michael J Denis, Secretary, CKAACA, LLC