The following excerpt is from an article posted in the April 8, 2014 edition of gainesvilletimes.com:
A temporary, handwritten sign marks the site of the small cemetery. It reads “New Bethel Church, Strickland Cemetery.”
The final word has already faded though the sign was erected only a few months prior. The sign was placed there by the Restoration and Preservation Mission, a Gainesville-based organization that focuses on restoring abandoned or neglected African-American cemeteries.
“You couldn’t tell there was anything there just walking through the woods unless you stumbled on a headstone, literally,” said Dave Bahr, executive secretary to the president of the Sugar Hill Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “I was actually surprised. When I saw this cemetery, I was surprised it was so grown up. You didn’t see any big trees but in the next 20 years you would have seen trees start to grow up in the middle of it.”
Utility crews stumbled upon the cemetery and notified city officials.
