By Charlotte Smith
The Elizabethtown City Cemetery had signs of significant terra firma damage after Hurrican Florence’s record rainfall of 35.93 inches hit Elizabethtown in 2018. The graveyard is located behind the Old Trinity Methodist Church Cemetery in Elizabethtown on East Queen Street.
Eroding soil affected a large perimeter of the cemetery, causing land gaps and moved grave markers, resulting in heartbreak and concern for citizens. Emergency officials found the cemetery unsafe, and East Queen Street has been closed since 2018. Pat DeVane with the Town of Elizabethtown has been working with WK Dickson & Co. engineers on the project. Together with WK Dickson and the Town of Elizabethtown, the engineers created a solution to fix the cemetery while applying protective measures to prevent future damage.
According to Town of Elizabethtown Manager Dane Rideout, a “Sheet Pile” retaining system has been set in place to prevent future damage. The 3.5 million dollar cemetery project was paid for by FEMA funding.
Today, Terri Dennison with the Town of Elizabethtown confirmed the cemetery project is almost complete, and East Queen Street is open. Dennison said, “It is pretty much complete. We just have a few more things on the punch list, but they are minor items.”
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The two sections of the cemetery requiring the most involvement with repairs are the section adjacent to Cypress Street between Main Street and East Queen Street and the northern section between Queen Street and the Cape Fear River. The project’s contractor, S & C Construction, completed a detailed survey and headstone survey. According to Mrs. Dennison, the construction company worked incrementally to level the ground and replace the headstones and markers. No more than 100 grave markers were disturbed at a time.
Mr. Rideout said, “The town is extremely pleased with the oversight being provided by Engineer Scott Sigmon, and the construction by S & C Construction on this critical project.”
Town of Elizabethtown Mayor Sylvia Campbell said, “I couldn’t be happier for our people. This is what I wanted to see happen because I didn’t want it moved.”
She continued, “It took a little longer than we thought, but that is alright. The area is better than ever now. New innovations are amazing things, and we have to keep innovation in mind when facing such issues.”
More information about the project will be published as soon as it is made available.
https://bladencounty.org/update-on-the-elizabethtown-city-cemetery-restoration/
https://bladencounty.org/town-requests-citizens-help-in-next-phase-of-cemetery-repairs/
https://bladencounty.org/sinkhole-at-cemetery-after-hurricane-florence/
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