North Carolina Cemetery Survey

In 2018, two major hurricanes, Florence and Michael, crossed over the southeastern United States. They caused considerable damages state-wide, costing over $23 billion in North Carolina alone. Storm surges, rain, and high winds negatively affected historic structures and archaeological sites.

In response, Congress approved the Emergency Supplemental Historic Preservation Fund (ESHPF) grants. The National Park Service administers these grants. North Carolina received $17 million from ESHPF. These grants help communities repair historic buildings and prepare for future storm events. Local preservation groups and state agencies are eligible for funding.

The NC Office of State Archaeology received two of these ESHPF grants to support historic preservation projects. One of these projects is the North Carolina Historic Cemetery Survey. The survey will assess hurricane impacts on historic cemeteries in nine coastal counties. Findings will guide plans to protect cemeteries before, during, and after storm events. They will also foster public education and the nomination of sites to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Old Burial Grounds in Beaufort, North Carolina following Hurricane Florence. The winds and rains of Hurricane Florence destabilized the ground and caused several trees in the cemetery to uproot. This uprooting pulled over headstones and disturbed the burial plots. (Image by NC Office of State Archaeology, 2018)

A significant focus of the project is the identification of enslaved community cemeteries. Because markings tend to be obscured or absent, the locations of these cemeteries are often unknown. This places them at greater risk from storms and environmental changes. This survey will expand our knowledge of enslaved cemeteries throughout coastal North Carolina.

Results

Fieldwork for the cemetery survey wrapped up in 2023. The team surveyed 17 cemeteries across the nine project counties. These cemeteries ranged in size, age, and cultural affiliation. The surveyed cemeteries showed a range of different impacts depending on their location. Environmentally, most cemeteries close to shore experienced the effects of water erosion from flooding and wave action and sea level rise. These impacts bring high energy onshore that can destabilize headstones, wash out shorelines, and can expose buried materials. Another impact, particularly associated with storms, is high wind energy. High winds uproot trees and bring down branches. Uprooted trees unearth the ground, destabilizing headstones and exposing buried remains. Falling branches can damage headstones, requiring repair or new monuments. All cemeteries surveyed showed signs of human impact. Such impacts include poor preservation and restoration efforts, vandalism, stolen headstones, illegal dumping, unhouse camping, vehicle and visitor traffic, and prescribed burning.

Site Name	Site Type	Approximate Use Start	Approximate Use End	Cultural Affiliation
Bonner House burials	Cemetery	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Ivey Alligood Cemetery	Cemetery	Early 20^th	Early 20th	Euro American
Bath AME Zion Church Cemetery	Cemetery	Late 19^th	Mid 20th	African American
Goose Creek State Park Cemetery	Cemetery	Late 19^th	Unknown	Euro American
Handy Point Ln/ New Bath AMEZ Cemetery	Cemetery	Early 20^th	Current	Euro American
Smithwick-Waters Cemetery	Cemetery	Late 19^th	Late 19th	Euro American
Fort Macon Post Cemetery	Cemetery	Unknown	Late 19th	Euro American
Salvo Community Cemetery	Cemetery	Mid 19^th	Current	Euro American
Bowser Family Cemetery	Cemetery	Late 19^th	Mid 20th	African American
Best Cemetery	Cemetery	Late 19^th	Unknown	Euro American
Midgett Family Cemetery	Cemetery	Mid 19^th	Current	Euro American
Oliver N Barnett Cemetery	Cemetery	Late 18^th	Late 20th	Euro American
Wm F Nye Co. Factory	Maritime factory	1909	1930	Unknown
O’Neal Family/Hatteras Cemetery	Cemetery	Late 19^th	Current	Euro American
Mt Williams Presbyterian Church Cemetery	Cemetery	Mid 19^th	Current	Euro American
Unknown Canetuck Tract Cemetery	Cemetery	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Maurice Burrus Rd Cemetery	Cemetery	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown

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This material was produced with assistance from the Emergency Supplemental Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior.