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 ground and asked the city to continue maintenance so descendants have a place to visit. “That cemetery is the only history that African Americans have in this area,” she said, and asked the council to treat the site as a cultural landmark.

Staff and council members said the city has already undertaken cleanup and maintenance work and discussed next steps. City staff said contractor Worldscapes is currently mowing, edging and performing landscaping at the cemetery twice a month. City Manager Ricky Clark told the council that the cleanup and a mural installation earlier this year were part of an effort to stabilize the site while longer-term decisions are considered.

City Attorney Metric Hardy told the council that county property records list Forest Hills Memorial Gardens, Inc., as the recorded owner of the parcel. He said the city can nominate a site for historic designation but that designation or a transfer of ownership would require reaching the actual owner or working with the state. “First, trying to reach out to them. Second, as not the owner of the property, we can nominate it and attempt to work it out that way. Otherwise, if the city is interested in acquiring it, that’s a different conversation,” Hardy said.

Council members said they were moved by speakers’ histories and asked staff to bring the maintenance and ownership options back for more discussion. Councilwoman Kimberly James asked that the previously tabled agenda item about cemetery maintenance be reconsidered at the next meeting. Councilwoman Gunn pressed for exploring historic-preservation pathways so the community’s history is recorded and protected.

Speakers and several council members also raised concerns that portions of the original burial ground were disturbed when a water tower was installed and that records about earlier land transfers are incomplete. Residents said they recall unnotified removals and expressed concern about the possible shrinking of the cemetery footprint.

What happens next: staff said they will continue contracted maintenance and follow up with legal research on ownership records and the process to nominate the site for historic designation. The city attorney noted that pursuing designation or acquisition would require additional steps and potentially conversations with Forest Hills Memorial Gardens, Inc., the party shown on county records.

Community members who identified themselves with family connections to the cemetery urged the council to move quickly so the graves and the site’s history are not further lost.

Ending: Council members thanked residents for coming, and several said they would continue working with staff and the residents’ advisory group to identify practical next steps, including ownership verification and potential historic nomination.