In a historic effort to restore dignity to those buried in anonymity, the Lawrence, Kansas, branch of the NAACP will install 30 custom granite headstones at Oak Hill Cemetery.
The markers will occupy an area of Oak Hill Cemetery known as Potter’s Field, a section of the cemetery that housed the remains of unknown or impoverished residents between 1866 and 1917. In 2021, the discovery of a long-lost cemetery plot chart outlined the locations of those interred and once unknown. Among those finally receiving markers are Isaac King, George Robertson, and Peter Vinegar, three Black men who were lynched by a white mob in 1882.
For over 140 years, their final resting places remained unmarked and unacknowledged by the city.
The installation of these markers is a meticulously planned operation led by the Lawrence NAACP, in coordination with President Ursula Minor and local historian Kerry Altenbernd, the Lawrence Times reported. Three separate grants funded the purchase of the headstones through Douglas County Monument Works. Most of the stones will mark an individual grave; a cenotaph memorial marker for those whose remains have not been located will be added.
A contractor is scheduled to pour concrete bases that will permanently anchor the granite markers within Potter’s Field. The technical team is using the 19th-century grave of Moses Gray, one of the only pre-existing markers in the area, as a primary geographic anchor. Gray’s headstone provided a point of reference along with the plot map. The new markers will align with the original 19th-century grid.
“The important thing is that they will be recognized as having been citizens of Lawrence and human beings that existed,” Altenbernd said. The installation is expected to be completed within the next few months, finally providing a place for descendants and the community to pay their respects.
The work at Oak Hill Cemetery goes beyond its physical aspects. It also features a digital component to preserve the humanity of those interred. KU professor emerita Jeanne Klein has authored detailed biographies for each of the 30 individuals. Their stories will be hosted in a permanent digital archive. This dual approach ensures that their legacy is preserved both in the earth and in historical records.
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