Residents press Forest Park to preserve Macedonia Rock Spring cemetery; city says contractor maintenance continues

Dozens of residents urged the City of Forest Park on July 21 to keep the Macedonia Rock Spring (Odd Fellows) cemetery clean, preserve gravesites and pursue historic recognition for the burial ground, which speakers said dates to the 1800s and contains the graves of enslaved people, veterans and long-time Black residents.

The request came during public comments and a staff presentation at the regular meeting of the Forest Park mayor and council. Dolores Salisbury, who said many of her ancestors are buried at the site, asked the city to “take sole ownership and permanently keep up” the cemetery and called the site a potential historic attraction for Juneteenth visitors. “I am here today asking for your support from the City of Forest Park to continue to maintain and keep the Macedonia Rock Spring Odd Fellows Cemetery clean,” Salisbury said.

Another speaker, Barbara Standridge Smith, described family ties to the burial…