Friends of East End Cemetery commission firm to assist in restoration process

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The Friends of East End Cemetery organization have commissioned a landscape architecture firm to complete a cultural landscape report (CLR) for Evergreen and East End cemeteries.

While firms completed the CLR and preservation reports -- a survey of the sites -- Liz Sargent Historical Landscape Architecture (HLA) in Charlottesville was considered "the most appropriate to produce a CLR for these cemeteries," according to the Friends of East End Cemetery.

The restoration process is in its early stages, and the CLR will provide more necessary information to determine how to progress to later stages of restoration, which will include discussions about where future cemeteries will be held and how decisions will be made as a community.

In February of 2024, the Richmond City Council approved an ordinance, resulting in the City acquiring the East End, Evergreen and Forest View cemeteries. These are historic African American cemeteries that were the property of local nonprofit Enrichmond Foundation and its affiliate Parity LLC, which dissolved in June of 2022.

The Friends of East End sees the CLR as a document that helps give important stakeholders, including members of the broader African American community, the public, government agencies and researchers an understanding of the cemeteries. It provides details based on research, the history of the site, its significance to the National Register of Historic Places and an evaluation of its existing features that contribute to the cemeteries' influence.

This acquisition came following a controversy that arose when about $200,000 seemingly vanished during the nonprofit’s dissolution, which impacted volunteers and resulted in more than 80 partner organizations searching for answers and funding.

Liz Sargent HLA has assembled a team to assist in the restoration process, including Rivanna Archaeological Services, a firm with more than 25 years of experience in Virginia.