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Historic Edgemont group outlines Wimberley House renovation and Unity Cemetery inventory; council presents plaque
Summary
The Historic Edgemont Community Association briefed council on plans to renovate the Wimberley House as a free community headquarters and to develop burial maps and a Unity Cemetery registry; council presented an official plaque recognizing HECCA’s preservation work.
The Rocky Mount City Council heard a presentation from the Historic Edgemont Community Association (HECCA) about the group’s effort to renovate the historic Wimberley House and to compile records for Unity Cemetery.
Alicia Johnson, chair of HECCA’s board, said HECCA identified the Wimberley House at 814–816 Raleigh Boulevard and worked with city representatives on a proposal to acquire and renovate the property as a community resource at no cost to the city. Pamela West, HECCA’s community outreach liaison, described a multi-phase plan to inventory burial records, map grave locations and document cemetery history — work she said will take approximately two to three years.
Councilman Blackwell introduced HECCA and praised the volunteers’ work restoring Unity Cemetery. The council presented a plaque recognizing HECCA’s “dedicated community efforts in helping preserve and restore 1 of the city's registered historic landmarks, Unity Cemetery,” signed by Mayor Robertson and dated February 2026.
Why it matters: The initiative aims to preserve a registered historic landmark, establish a centralized community resource, and improve documentation of unmarked or poorly recorded burial sites. HECCA told the council it will partner with local schools, social-service agencies and healthcare volunteers and that the project will be conducted in phases with volunteer support.
Next steps: HECCA requested continued cooperation with city staff to complete inventories and mappings. Council members accepted the presentation and publicly recognized HECCA with a commemorative plaque; no city expenditure for the Wimberley House was requested at the meeting.
