Atlanta cemetery expert tours Maplewood Cemetery

An expert on cemetery preservation and restoration says Kinston’s Maplewood Cemetery has much in common with Atlanta’s historic Oakland Cemetery.

Kevin Kuharic, restoration and landscape manager for the Historic Oakland Foundation in Atlanta, toured Maplewood on Monday with Kinston’s Cemetery Task Force, pointing out some of Maplewood’s unusual features.

The Cemetery Task Force was organized last year to preserve the city’s cemeteries. Herb Spear is the group’s chairman. Its initial efforts are focused on Maplewood.

A rare zinc headstone, intricately carved and signed antique headstones, a small mass Confederate burial site and “cradled” graves are among the city cemetery’s unusual features, Kuharic said.

Oakland too has a mass Confederate gravesite, although it is much larger than Maplewood’s. Oakland also has zinc headstones, cradled graves and signed headstones.

Oakland is a city-owned cemetery, as is Maplewood. Atlanta city fathers in 1850 bought six acres of farmland for a cemetery. Today, that space has expanded to as much as 88 acres and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Maplewood contains about 25 acres.

Luminaries buried in Oakwood include Joseph Jacobs, the pharmacist who developed the Coca Cola formula in 1896; “Gone With the Wind” author Margaret Mitchell; golf great Bobby Jones, and Morris and Emanuel Rich, founders of the famed Rich’s Department Store chain. Other graves provide a resting place for people of all colors, religions, origins and financial status.

Kinston’s luminaries are not so widely known but represent many of the city’s most important families, as well as the not so well-known from all races and all strata of life.

Kuharic appeared to be impressed by Maplewood and suggested ideas for having the cemetery added to the National Register.

He encouraged committee members to decide whether their goal is to preserve Maplewood or restore it. Preservation entails caring for the land and its graves, keeping graves trimmed and headstones clean and repaired, landscaping and maintenance of trees and shrubbery. Restoration would mean restoring the cemetery to its original condition. Preservation is the goal at Oakland Kuharic said.

“We started 26 years ago,” he said. “We’re using a triage approach, and doing one section at a time.”

Kuharic suggested cleaning tombstones with plain water and plastic or natural bristle brushes, and cautioned about the use of chemicals. Using chemicals to control weeds also must be used carefully he said, since weedkillers can damage fragile tombstones.

Tryon Palace in New Bern undoubtedly has experts who could advise the task force about repairs to marble, mortar, limestone and other materials, he said.

Many grave markers at Maplewood are covered with lichen. The growth is dangerous to tombstones, he said, collecting moisture that can cause limestone and marble to crack and deteriorate.

Landscaping small areas would lend beauty to the cemetery, Kuharic said, keeping in mind the appropriate types of flowers and greenery for Maplewood.

Maplewood is a cultural and historic resource, an outdoor museum and an archaeological site, Kuharic told the committee. Preserving it would be a long-term project that could enhance the city’s historical aspects and become a place people would want to visit and explore.

Want to help preserve Maplewood Cemetery?

Call Herb Spear, 523-2286, or Adrian King, 522-4676.