Resident urges Rowan County to help secure historical marker for unmarked cemetery

Cynthia Moore Stanfield told the Rowan County Board of Commissioners on Nov. 3 that she has researched an unmarked cemetery and successfully had it added to the North Carolina Register of Historic Cemeteries, and she asked the county to help write a grant for a historical marker.

Stanfield identified herself as a retired social-studies teacher and said she does not qualify to apply for a marker herself because she is not a nonprofit or a government entity. She told commissioners she has gathered public support, two letters of recommendation and a news story in the Salisbury Post but has not heard back from Rowan County staff. "This is my final attempt to get help from Rowan County because I'm thinking big thoughts and big dreams," she said on the record, and added that she has contacted media and other jurisdictions should the county not assist.

Stanfield said she considered taking the project to a larger county or seeking a philanthropist to fund the marker; she asked the board to consider writing the grant on her behalf so the cemetery can receive a historical marker. The board did not discuss the request on the record during the public-comment segment and offered no immediate commitment on the floor.

The county did not provide a staff response on the record at the time of Stanfield's remarks. The meeting minutes should record whether staff follow up and whether county resources will be used to support the marker application.