Update June 9, 2024. Today we found an update to this story and wanted to share it with everyone.
The following was posted on Facebook by Bobbi Comer on April 17, 2024”
“I'm incredibly proud to announce that our amazing PCHS FCCLA members are the winners of the National FCCLA Stand UP Award for their Chestnut Ridge Cemetery project! This is the best, most meaningful learning experience my kids have undertaken in my 37 years of teaching. We continue to work on this cemetery and have some amazing things still to share. Stay tuned!”
Unless you live near it, most people in the Town of Shenandoah have never of a cemetery called Chestnut Ridge. It’s a small cemetery located on private property in a wooded area off Rt 602.
This area lies at the eastern edge of the corporation limits of the Town of Shenandoah.
The Chestnut Ridge Cemetery Association was created in 1891, and cemetery was located outside the corporation limits of Town of Shenandoah. As a result of the friendly boundary line adjustment between the Town and Page County on January 1, 2007, brought the cemetery property into the corporation limits of Shenandoah.
Page County High School (PCHS) Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) started this cemetery cleanup project last fall.
They have received funding of $1100 for the project with two mini-grants. The land owner has been very helpful and has offered to help pay for supplies to clean the cemetery up.
In addition to cleaning up the cemetery, the project also involves digging into its history. They have gotten Ancestry accounts set up for student access and are having them do some online research. By using Ancestry online records, the students recently have identified several others who are buried there and several others they presume are buried there.
Bobbi Comer is the FCCLA Adviser at PCHS and informed us that the landowner, told them that the cemetery began as a municipal cemetery and that somehow by default, his family purchased the property. He says that his grandfather and father were both doctors. At some point, there was an outbreak of Cholera and their concern was to bury people as quickly as possible. At this time, they began to bury people of color in Chestnut Ridge. Many did not have the means for proper burial. Also, families of caucasian residents were upset over the burials and some were exhumed and buried elsewhere.
They have been in contact with the Shenandoah’s mayor Clinton Lucas Jr., who is also on board for the project. He also believes it's time to take action to clean it up.
The students have cleaned the stones carefully with cleaners and methods they use at Arlington National Cemetery. Since the tombstones are located under a canopy of trees, they are having to continuously rake the leaves and clean the tombstones.
The blow post was found on Bobbi Comer’s Facebook page on November 5, 2023. Bobbi is FCS, FCCLA Adviser at PCHS.
“Yesterday was an incredible day with some incredible PCHS FCCLA members! We began our cleaning of the Chestnut Ridge Cemetery in Shenandoah. Thank you to all those who gave their blessing to us for access to the property. There's a lot of history found here and we are doing historical research to learn more about this resting place of Page County residents. We will share our findings as we learn more about it. But for now, have a look at the awesome job the kids did in just a day. #clearingitup #chestnutridge #pchsfccla. Funding for this project is provided by the Virginia FCCLA Leadership Foundation and the FCCLA Ultimate Leadership Fund.”
Bobbi commented “We have kids here at Page who are very passionate about this project.”
Shenandoah Newz visited this cemetery in January 2024. One of the Larger tombstones seen as you are walking into the cemetery is of Mr. George David Hurst Jr. He was a handyman around town for many years. He is pictured on page 197 in the book Shenandoah A History of Our Town And Its People. That photo was taken in the sixties when the “General” steam engine came to town.
Of the visible headstones seen on January 3, 2024, the most recent person to be buried in this cemetery was Hattie Belle Mitchell. Born July 30, 1900 Died July 7, 1996.
More pictures of the students cleaning up the cemetery can be found at the following link:
PCHS FCCLA Chestnut Ridge Cemetery Project
The students haven't been able to get out there much lately because of the weather, but they are planning on going out maybe within a week or two.
Here is a link to Shenandoah Newz post about the work the FCCLA did in November 2018 “Uncovering Heroes” service project written by Rebecca Armstrong.
Page County FCCLA Students Honor Deceased Veterans
Pictured Left to Right are: (next to “General” steam engine) George Hurst, Clyde Thomas Jr.,Woody May, Larry Thomas and Mark Armentrout.
