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Museum-led team outlines multi‑phase plan to restore Woodlawn Cemetery
Summary
The African American Cultural and Historical Museum and partners told commissioners they have identified nearly 300 named burials at Woodlawn Cemetery and need county coordination, drainage work and multi‑million-dollar fundraising to stabilize and restore the site.
Dr. Debbie Mitchell Covington, president of the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County, told commissioners the Woodlawn Cemetery Restoration Project is a descendant‑informed, multi‑phase effort to restore and protect Washtenaw County’s only documented Black cemetery.
“We call it AACHM,” Covington said, describing the project’s mission: “to restore, preserve, protect, and promote the history of Woodlawn Cemetery.” She thanked county leaders and private partners for early funding and said the project aims to secure local historic designation and placement on the National Register to protect the site and unlock additional funding.
Kat Slocum, an archaeologist and cultural heritage preservation officer, walked the board through the project phases: clearing and an initial geophysics survey, archival and genealogical research, historic resource designation, and the long restoration stage. She said the team has located 263 burials in the surveyed area and identified 293 names through deed records, vital records and genealogical work, and that remote sensing and a human‑remains detection dog indicated “at least another 500 burials” on the south side of the property.
Project staff listed near‑term needs: clearing overgrowth, applying herbicide to limit regrowth, contracting a landscape clearing crew for the southern parcel, excavating and documenting headstones found by ground‑penetrating radar (some buried up to about 2 feet), installing secure storage and site utilities (solar panels, cameras) and purchasing tools and PPE for volunteers. Covington and Slocum said those assets will let the team pursue larger external grants.
Presenters emphasized drainage and site stabilization as urgent priorities, linking recurring spring flooding to nearby development and asking the Board to coordinate with county water resources and the road commission to expand drains and address stormwater inflow. Commissioners offered volunteer support, fundraising help and suggestions to engage parks staff and local partners for vegetation control and site work.
The presenters said they have contributed or secured roughly $250,000 in funding and in‑kind services so far but that full restoration could take several years and require “a couple million” dollars or more. They asked the board to help coordinate engineering, title and stormwater work and to support the project as it pursues historic designation and grant funding.
