About 250 gravestones at Douglass Memorial Cemetery will be temporarily relocated as a new stormwater improvement project gets underway next month.
Anticipated to begin Jan. 20, the project aims to replace hundreds of feet of aging stormwater pipes and regrade the historic Black cemetery’s drainage systems at 1421 Wilkes Street. Construction will prompt the temporary removal of about 250 gravestones, and will affect traffic along Wilkes Street, City Archaeologist Eleanor Breen told ALXnow.
“[Gravestones] will be safely and securely stored in fencing, and there will be protective wrapping over top of them,” Breen said. “They’re not being moved very far.”
Crews are scheduled to work from 7 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Construction will mostly affect access to the eastern portion of the cemetery, where about 2,200 people were buried from 1827 to 1974, including some in unmarked graves.
One lane of traffic along Wilkes Street is also expected to be shut down as crews complete work in the road.
“There will be part of the cemetery that won’t be accessible during the construction time, because they will be replacing a storm water pipe that runs under the main path within the cemetery,” Breen said. “They will be bringing in soil to fill up the area that floods, and so that will all be fenced-off.”
The cemetery’s pipes, located at least two feet below ground, likely date back to the 1970s, Breen said. The cemetery has faced years of flooding and drainage problems that damage its graves.
The stormwater project is one “critical component” of a larger effort to conserve the cemetery, including plans to restore the site to its late 19th century appearance.
It includes the following tasks.
- Replace 150-foot section of pipe under the south edge of Wilkes Street.
- Replace two drainage inlets in Wilkes Street.
- Replace 200-foot section of pipe in Douglass Cemetery, under current pathway and gazebo.
- Regrade and reinforce existing drainage swale along the north boundary of Douglass Cemetery.
- Lightly grade the head of the drainage swale to the northwest, within Christ Church and Trinity Methodist Cemeteries.
- Remove approximately 250 gravestones, store onsite, regrade area, and reset headstones.
In the event that crews excavate human remains, the city has received an archaeological permit from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and maintains contact with about 125 of the cemetery’s descendants.
The project will have an on-site archaeologist who will monitor construction and notify descendants if human remains are recovered.
“Out of the utmost caution, we wanted to be proactive and know what we were all going to do if something were found during the course of construction,” Breen said. “We wanted to work with the descendants of Douglass Cemetery very closely to make sure that they approved of everything that we would do in that instance.”
The project is estimated to wrap up by summer 2026, but could be complete as soon as May, depending on weather conditions. Further information and updates can be found on the Douglass Cemetery Stormwater Improvement Project webpage.
