Clay County preservation board details cemetery investigations, volunteer repairs and inaccessible sites

Board member Beth (full name not specified) gave a detailed update on cemetery research and preservation work, reporting a mix of verified state-listed sites, locations that appear to be lost, and gravesites the board is still trying to locate.

Beth said she has not added new entries to the state master file since the previous meeting but has carried out research and attended a Florida Trust for Historic Preservation “lunch-and-learn” webinar. She told the board she discovered that a site listed on the state database as “TANG07-D” corresponds to Lee Cemetery (also known locally as Sand Hill or Lakeside Cemetery) and confirmed the master-file entry matched the local name.

The board’s active investigation list includes several sites the committee has been unable to locate in the field, Beth said: Maryland Avenue (a short street with houses), Glisten Cemetery in Green Cove (previous research suggests 12+ graves), Garner Leige off Springbank Road, Wolf Branch, two Taylor Landing sites on both sides of Black Creek, and several unnamed or extinct Catholic burial grounds in Middleburg and Green Cove. She also reported uncertainty about multiple Camp Blanding locations: an unnamed Camp Blanding cemetery listed on the GIS and an “Old Conway” cemetery the conservation program manager at Camp Blanding believes may be distinct from the Conway Cemetery already on the master file. Beth said she has tried to contact Douglas Castine to clarify GIS sources but had not received a response.

Beth reported that McKendree Cemetery is registered with the state but “extremely in bad condition,” based on a recent site visit by an archives staffer; she said gravestones were “actually growing into the trees” and that the property’s long-term stewards had died, leaving a younger relative now responsible for the land. She also described recent vandalism at John Youngblood Cemetery in Jennings State Forest, where “quite a few stones were knocked off their base,” and said volunteer repairs were planned.

Board members discussed seeking permission from Camp Blanding and GIS staff to schedule site visits once additional location data is available. Beth said the Camp Blanding conservation program manager indicated the board would be allowed to visit once the GIS questions were resolved.

The update also covered Pleasant Point Cemetery: volunteers are clearing trees, a landowner has requested bids for a fence (one bid described as $25,000 was mentioned by the landowner as an estimate and additional bids are being sought), and the board hopes to complete clearance by November with an opening event before Christmas. Beth said county staff and volunteers would handle much of the maintenance work.

No formal action or vote on funding was recorded in the transcript during the cemetery update; the discussion centered on outreach, site visits and volunteer repair plans.