SNOW HILL, N.C. (WITN) – Over 200 African Americans have been laid to rest in Taylor-Swinson Historic Memorial Cemetery without a tombstone or marker.
“I have a lot of family out here, including my father, my brother, and great-grandfathers, and it means everything,” Naomi Minter says.
On Friday morning, that changed forever.
“Our ancestors live until they die, but their spirits live until the last time that their names are mentioned, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Lenny Swinson told WITN. “We’re trying to keep their names alive forever.”
A Snow Hill native, Swinson says the rich black family history of the cemetery was almost lost forever.
“This cemetery, once almost buried, gone, forgotten, it has produced ancestors from Civil Rights leaders, CEO of AARP, and National Teacher of the Year in 1976. All of these folks’ ancestors are from this cemetery,” Swinson says.
In remembrance of his heritage, he formed the Taylor-Swinson Historic Memorial Cemetery Association in 2020 to restore the graves that had been buried in brush and overgrowth for decades.
“It looked like a jungle. I used to say the only thing missing was lions, tigers, and Tarzan,” he says.
On Friday, to finally recognize more than half of those buried in the cemetery without a tombstone, the association raised a memorial in their honor.
“When I come out here alone, it’s very quiet and peaceful. I remember how my father was,” Minter, a participant and board member of the association, says. “He was a very quiet man, a sharecropper. I came from humble beginning, and so I’m really thankful.”
The cemetery’s association started with five members in 2020 and has grown into an association with over 300 members in just five years.
Swinson says the cemetery’s history dates back to 1904 when his relative, Lewis Swinson, purchased 25 acres of land, which included the cemetery.
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