Report: Dilapidated Hamilton Cemetery May Get Aid

Cracked and broken remnants of marble headstones marking an 18th century family's graves are stored in a weathered wooden display case near what is left of the Hamilton Cemetery in Greenbelt, MD.

It is the final resting place to at least seven members of the Hamilton family, who were pioneers in the settlement of Greenbelt, according to a sign that's bent, dirty and laminated with a typed history tacked up inside the display case with the more than 200-year-old headstones.

John Hamilton patented 240 acres in this area, including the land where the gravesite is located, in 1768, according to the history. The headstone for Andrew Hamilton is among those that remain. The wrinkled display sheet says the once prominent citizen served as both a Justice of the Peace and Supervisor of Roads.

Last week Greenbelt resident Peter Inman stopped to look at the display case and was disappointed in its appearance, according to a Gazette report.

"It's a shame," Inman said. "You can't make heads or tails of the inscriptions or the dates," he told the paper.

Lesley Riddle, an assistant director at Greenbelt Public Works, said the city is responsible for maintaining the property where the display is located—and that the city maintains the cemeteries to the best of its ability, according to the report.

"Those current tombstones need to be put in a much better display. Moisture gets in there whenever it rains," resident Katrina Boverman told the Gazette. "It's really sad."

Eric Zhang, a resident who is chronicling Greenbelt's 75th Anniversary year, recently ventured out the the site, photographing its condition. He also noted its location at the end of Hamilton Place, with photographs showing the wooded path leading up to it.

Greenbelt Assistant City Manager David Moran, said the city is looking at how to build a better display case, according to the Gazette report, and is trying to identify the cemetery boundaries.

Greenbelt native Jennifer Stabler, who is also an archeology planning coordinator with Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission is working with the city to determine whether some slave burial plots could help in getting the cemetery designated a historic site, according to the Gazette. 

For more on the Hamilton Cemetery see Eric Zhang's blog and the Gazette's report.