Dorchester board plans fall field trips, formalizes survey process and seeks to protect burial-site records

The Dorchester County Burial Site Preservation Board on a regularly scheduled meeting reviewed a recent statewide preservation conference, agreed to plan fall field trips and public outreach, and discussed formalizing how completed cemetery surveys will be stored and used by county offices.

Joe Harrop, a board member who attended the Coalition annual conference in Hagerstown, said the session offered “a lot of really helpful information” and reported the county did not receive any coalition grant awards but that smaller grants could help local preservation efforts. “I wanna thank the board and the county for the opportunity to represent our board at the Coalition annual conference in Hagerstown,” Harrop said, summarizing highlights and offering to circulate the coalition materials he received.

The board’s outreach planning centered on fall field trips to local cemeteries, with members asking staff for two optional dates and formats (land- and boat-accessible sites) to present at the next meeting. Karen Collin, who is leading the outreach planning with Harrop, said she favored a fall schedule and proposed creating two “field trip” options for members to review. The board discussed sites that range from well-preserved church cemeteries to abandoned or privately owned plots; members emphasized obtaining property‑owner permission and adequate parking before finalizing locations.

Board members also discussed social media and promotions. David (last name not specified), currently able to post to the county Facebook page, lacks administrative control because the page’s login is attached to the Planning and Zoning department; the board agreed staff should work with Susan in Planning and Zoning to transfer administration so the preservation board can post events and respond to messages.

A substantive agenda item involved a completed survey submitted May 5 by resident Diana Thomas Gray (submitted under the Diana Thomas Gray Rutherford Trust). The trust’s submission listed six to ten burials and “one to five” visible small foot markers, and included GPS coordinates. Board members described the survey as a useful “alpha test” of the fillable PDF survey form the board has circulated and discussed where to archive completed forms. Planning and Zoning staff confirmed the board is a subsection of that department and that Planning and Zoning would keep the paper/digital files once the board routes completed surveys through county channels.

Board members raised recurring problems that can put burial sites at risk during property sales: title companies and deed re-drafts sometimes omit prior deed language noting cemetery locations, and cash sales often skip surveys or detailed title searches. Members said the board’s survey form and a developing master list of known sites (compiled from Nellie Marshall’s county volumes and a 2021 tourism‑office grant project) can serve as a starting point to help Planning and Zoning flag properties during review and to educate realtors and title agents about existing cemetery records.

The board announced several short-term items: a Bailey Road cemetery cleanup and preliminary preservation work scheduled for Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; the county’s annual festival on Saturday, Sept. 13 (vendor sign-up cutoff noted around Aug. 15; demonstrators and exhibitors generally do not pay a fee while selling vendors do); and a suggestion to document relocated grave markers at Wesley Chapel through public databases such as Find a Grave to aid genealogical research.

Members also discussed longer-term policy steps. The board wants to assemble recommended edits to Chapter 63 of the Dorchester County Code and run those recommendations through county council and the county attorney for potential amendment; Planning and Zoning staff cautioned that code changes require a multi-step process (board recommendations, council review, county-attorney drafting and public hearings) and take months and legal resources to complete.

No new ordinance or binding change was adopted at the meeting. The board approved the prior meeting minutes by motion (moved by Joe Harrop; seconded by Dorothy Bradford Samnisky) and adjourned later in the session. Members agreed to circulate the completed survey they received and to present draft field‑trip options at the next regular meeting.

The board asked members to review a circulated master spreadsheet of known burial sites and to forward additions (including Native American and historically Black cemeteries) to one central keeper so the county can maintain a single updated list for Planning and Zoning and for historical reference.

Going forward, board members said they will continue to develop: the public-facing fillable survey form; a process for storing completed surveys with Planning and Zoning; outreach materials and schedules for fall field trips and the September festival; and a set of recommendations that could be taken to county council if the board recommends code changes to Chapter 63.