Video: Slave cemetery - battle for access

The fight to gain access to the South’s largest Slave Cemetery continues… and it’s right here in Alabama.

One Northport man, who has relatives buried there, is fighting to make sure people have access to the cemetery. 

James Wilson says he’s battling to preserve history.  We first brought you this story a couple of months ago and have been keeping our eyes on it ever since. 

Over time, the Prewitt Slave Cemetery in Tuscaloosa County has become landlocked by a lake and private property.

Now, a state agency is involved.  And we’ve learned a lot more has to happen before the ancestors of slaves can really have access to the burial ground.

James “Wood” Wilson’s great, great grandmother and great ,,great grandfather are buried there.

For Wilson, the historic Prewitt Slave Cemetery in Northport is more than just the final resting place of many relatives.  He believes it’s a landmark that should be treasured and protected for future generations to appreciate and learn from. 

The Prewitt Cemetery is considered the largest slave cemetery in the south, established in the 1820’s about 40 years before the civil war.

Wilson said, “More people are beginning to want to come out here and so it’s becoming a problem.“

The problem: the access road to the cemetery used to be off Old Byler Road, but when Lake Tuscaloosa was formed it swallowed up much of Old Byler and over the years surrounding property owners have taken over the now dead end road.  One has even put up a gate blocking the old cemetery entrance.

Wilson said, “We had a road into it we just want access back into the cemetery.”

According to Alabama law, access cannot be denied to cemeteries whether they’re on public or private land. 

Several months ago when we talked to Tuscaloosa County leaders about the issue, they said they would do something to maintain access to the cemetery.

Judge Hardy McCollum, Tuscaloosa County Commission Chairman told us,  “it’s the law, and whatever the law is we’ll abide by it and the property owners and the affected parties need to abide by it.“

But so far, nothing has changed and James Wilson is still fighting for public access. 

When Wilson couldn’t get satisfaction from county officials, he went to state officials and contacted the Alabama Historical Commission.

The primary focus of the governmental agency in Montgomery is preserving the state’s historic sites.

John Greene with the Alabama Historical Commission said,  “It’s very historic, there are 400 graves that relates to the John Welch Prewitt Plantation their descendants and slaves as well.“

The historic commission sent a letter to the Tuscaloosa County Commission saying before any ground is disturbed to create an accessible entrance, an archeological survey needs to be done to determine the exact boundaries of the old cemetery. 

Green said, “There are approximately 400 graves at this site.  Some could be under water and many are unmarked so that’s why it’s crucial to have the boundaries determined because we don’t know how far the cemetery extends, and it very possibly could extend into the private landowners’ property.”

Greene says preserving the remaining graves should be the first priority.  But he admits he can’t do much to force the county to take the advice.
 
That’s because the Alabama Historical Commission has no enforcement capabilities.  So the responsibility of resolving this issue will eventually fall back to the county. 

Lisa Crane spoke with James Wilson and adjoining landowner Jim Adkins back in February.

Wilson said, “I think if it comes down to it they would have to just insist by law to take that gate down and re open the road that kind of throws us against the property owners.“

When Lisa asked landowner Jim Adkins what he would do if officials asked him to move the gate, he responded, “That’s a good question.  I’d ask them why, we’re not blocking anybody from the cemetery.“

Adkins said he will open the gate for anyone who asks permission to visit the cemetery.

Wilson feels that is not enough, “This is something we can just keep letting it go, we gotta get access back to the cemetery.“

So how long will it take to decide this issue?  County commissioners tell NBC13 HD their engineers are looking into it. 

James Wilson believes it’ll eventually end up in court.  We’ll be there and keep you posted. 

Here are some links with information about historic sites.

Alabama Historical Commission
African American Cemeteries
Ancestry.com - Old Prewitt Cemetery
USGW Archives
Tuscloosa News