Preserving Forest View Cemetery - Phase Two - Spring Clearing and More Goats!

Friends of Forest View Cemetery is raising money to preserve and protect Forest View Cemetery, its land, and its mature trees. This forgotten cemetery sits in the middle of Forest View Neighborhood and has been overrun with poison ivy and overgrowth for decades. We are working to restore the cemetery and learn more about its history.

Forest View Cemetery is registered with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and can be found on a map dated 1898, though it could date back much further. Bernard Markham, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, owned the land in 1768 and more research needs to be done to learn about the land’s prior uses. Neighborhood lore tells us that it may have been a slave cemetery. It has been told that a Native American man, who lived on the property and tended the well, is buried there. There is also the story of a woman who was said to be too large for a coffin, so she was buried sitting in a straight back chair. Residents who grew up in the neighborhood remember playing among the headstones in the 1950’s, but the lot has become so overgrown with brambles and ivy that the headstones are no longer visible. The cemetery has become more of a public nuisance than a place of remembrance.

Our fall/winter phase was a success and a quarter of the land was cleared! With a portion of the land cleared, we were able to meet with an archaeologist who was able to identify several burial sites. Our spring phase will clear the entire cemetery, with the environmentally friendly use of goats. We will then be able to bring archeologists onto the land to determine how many people are buried here, and to locate any markers or stones, all while keeping the hope that we may be able to discover who was buried here.

Friends of Forest View Cemetery plan to restore the land to a place of remembrance for the people who lived and died here, and to create a neighborhood green space with native plantings. But first we need more goats!

Phase two: Spring clearing of brush with the help of Goats!

RVA Goats will remove trash and visible non-vegetative debris. Trees and shrubs less than 2 inches in diameter will be cut. Brush along edges of cemetery will be removed. A path will be cut and fencing will be installed to enclose the entire cemetery. A herd of approximately 25 or more goats will be installed and goats will remove leaves, stems, and woody material. Brush and debris will be hauled to appropriate waste management and composting facilities.

The clearing of the land and its overgrowth will allow Friends of Forest View Cemetery to work with archeologists and historians to learn more about the cemetery and its history. 

History holds the stories of lives lived, but there are times when history is neglected, forgotten, or untold. We feel that it is important to honor the lives of the people who are buried here by bringing the cemetery back to a place of remembrance and beauty, and in doing so, creating a neighborhood green space for many generations to come.