New Hanover County votes to preserve 19th century cemetery
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WECT) - The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners voted Monday morning to protect a 19th century cemetery should the property be sold to a private entity.
Oak Grove Cemetery, located on 16th and 17th streets, was established by the City of Wilmington in 1870. In 1882, ownership was turned over to New Hanover County, which has owned it ever since. The cemetery was used for both indigent and public burials, with the last burial taking place prior to 17th street's extension in 1961.
In the early 1960s, the county acquired Flemington Cemetery, located at 612 Sampson Road, to relocate all of the headstones and graves in Oak Grove Cemetery located near the 17th Street extension. At least ten burials have taken place at Flemington Cemetery and in 1999, 162 graves from Pine Tree Cemetery, which was previously owned by the county, were relocated to the cemetery.
But as developable land in the region has grown scarce, the county has received several offers from private developers to purchase the properties.
In response, commissioners approved a declaration on Monday that preserves the two cemeteries as burial sites, even if the land is purchased.
Below are the main points of the declaration:
- The properties would be preserved and maintained as burial sites.
- No burial monuments or markers and no caskets or human remains can be removed or disinterred without the express written consent of the Board of Commissioners, following a public hearing and a four - fifths majority vote.
- No non-county owned structures or buildings can be erected without the express written consent of the Board of Commissioners, following a public hearing and a four-fifths majority vote.
- Improvements, modifications or construction, undertaken by the county for a public purpose, only requires approval by the county manager.
- The Declaration is for a term of twenty (20) years which contains a provision for automatic renewals.
- The Declaration can be revoked or amended at any time by the Board of Commissioners, following a public hearing and a four-fifths majority vote.
Copyright 2018 WECT. All rights reserved.
