It’s not morbid, I have always been fascinated by old cemeteries. So much history. LA gets hurricanes, no money left (I guess) to fix and maintain the cemeteries. I think it would be a good idea to use prisoners to clean this up, for reduced sentences,
They should start a prison program and let the prisoners clean that place up the men and the women as well. We pay enough taxes to keep prisoner's its costly so let them earn their keep! That cemetery is disgraceful be it from storms or vandalism there is no excuse for keeping it that way!
This is a slave cemetery. No one vandalized this it's Louisiana, much of Louisiana is below sea level, these graves are built above the ground, the ground is very unstable. I'm sure most if not all of the relatives are no longer alive to take care of these Graves. Being that many of these Graves if not most are slaves they may not have even had relatives that knew of their graves. Money has run out. This is the usual outcome of all cemeteries sooner or later. When the ground shifts the stones, bricks and cement crack and separate. the lids to the vaults shift and fall in on the casket.
The city should have funding put a side to cut this and bill the owners of the cemetery. These families paid them a good amount for theirs families final resting place.
HI THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HIGHLIGHTING Sweet Olive Cemetery. I am the founder of Friends of Sweet Olive Cemetery nonprofit. We are working towards getting the entire Cemetery renewed. I would love to have your video on our social media platforms. The more increased exposure the more pressure we can o apply to the people in charge.
I restore thousands of headstones a year in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. I am more than willing to get in contact with you to find out some information. I can then find out who to speak to and get this place it's dignity back and respect the dead
@@thomasmint1761 I get donations for the most part via Cash App. But, I do spend alot of my own money to renew headstones on site.... especially the forgotten ones
Each grave marker generally costs around $10 for the cleaning solution. Depending on the stone material and the cemetery sometimes it is more. I typically use a natural concoction that I have found to work very well on most surfaces. No power washing. Alot of scrubbing, rinses and tooth brush work. The average trip to do headstones are generally older cemeteries that aren't well cared for. My philosophy is we die twice in life. Once when our body does and last when our name is no longer spoken. I just try to give back to the ones that were here before me and people loved.
@@superdave77 That is great. Isn’t it safe to say here though that the majority of effort and cost in restoring this cemetery is the cleanup of debris, clearing of overgrown plants, and structural repair of broken monuments? Not so much cleaning of headstones?
@@thomasmint1761 When I travel I try to find locals to help with the cleanup. Several times we have replaced vaults that were broken, but only if the family is okay with it. If the family cannot be found then it is up to the cemetery
Yes, it's sad... but it's inevitable. After 50 years or so (average), graves aren't visited any more. Eventually, a graveyard isn't maintained any more, either. So in the cemetery in the video, there is hardly a vase of flowers anywhere. Not even a glass jar with withered flowers. And now the cemetery itself is decaying. It happens to all cemeteries sooner or later. All the great cemeteries of Roman Britain, for example, with their mausoleums and tombs, have long disappeared and are reduced to archaeological traces. So what we are seeing here is the start of that inevitable process. Dust we are, to dust we return.
Nonsense… Have you ever heard of the word Refurbish or remodel? That’s what we do in the United States.. We don’t accept this type of disrespect… These people deserve respect forever… not just on the day their tombs were sealed
I went to holy cross catholic cemetery in San Diego two days ago it’s absolutely beautiful and very well maintained. My husband and I will be there someday.
@@stevetrivago That is BS! I volunteered at a hospital with a cemetery across the street with graves from 1700-1800’s. No flowers. No present day burials. Obviously all families of these deceased were also deceased. The hospital bought the cemetery, supposedly moved all the bodies (?) and put a parking lot over it. Woodbury, NJ. USA
Those are what is known as floating Cemetery or floating caskets but I do think someone should make some phone calls to see about getting the grass cut
I'm surprised no one noted that Ella Hayes died at 105 years old. Born before Reconstruction ended and died just a few days before Reagan was inaugurated. Lived that long only to have an open grave, ironically considering it is one of the newer graves in that cemetery.
its not like she can complain about it. she led a long life, now she is no more on this plane of existence. it does not bother her anymore as it should not bother others. nature reclaims all in the end. if there were no humans to take care of the death of others we would simply be given back to nature as intended. we humans have rituals for everything for no reason but our own.
These types of cemeteries may look like they've been vandalized, but in reality it was probably due to flooding and hurricanes, especially in La., and also possibly due to the cemetery being abandoned because the owners are deceased now and didn't leave it to anyone in a will or whatever. In places where the water table is high (low-lying lands) caskets come up to the surface a lot during flooding and sometimes you can see videos after floods of caskets floating down the street. Also, whoever designed this cemetery didn't leave much space in between the graves for a mower to go through. It looks like someone would have to go through with a weed-wacker in some of those areas.
Yes, and some of these above-ground vaults are very old and were poorly constructed in the first place, so naturally there's deterioration. The only issues I see that are truly avoidable are the close proximity of the graves (which precludes fitting a lawn mower down the rows) and the obvious lack of weed-eating by Winfield Cemetery Stewards LLC, which is responsible for the maintenance of the site.
I was gonna say the exact same because you're absolutely correct..I realized this when I was a child and my stepfathers entire family dating back to mid 1800s were all buried in a private cemetery on his great-grandfathers property/land and that was in 1980 I believe however over the years and with the property being passed down and down and his relatives passing on eventually in the 2000s property was unclaimed and the state took the property and over time they just leave these types of family cemeteries abandoned basically yet untouched tho so it's not always about how families just abandon their loved ones it's just over history we all parish and return to the earth so it's just fact that they become abandoned.. imagine the Egyptians and the hundreds of tombs they've excavated and removed from under the earth where the Egyptians believed they'd be buried together under those pyramids for eternity and now in modern day they're actually building cities and malls in those exactl spot's.. same with some of these in parts of America they've removed some cemetery where 200 yrs ago it was family farm land and now today in modern time the city owns said properties and are tearing up those spots putting up high rise apartments, malls, and buildings.. It's just a sad fact.
@@mariallen3995 The names and dates are visible on a lot of them, and about 5,000 of them are documented on Find A Grave. The most recent hurricane (Ida in late 2021) brought plenty of wind and about 10 inches of rain into Baton Rouge (where this old cemetery is located).
Most cemetery plots are only good for 50 years, then they dig you up, pulverize your remains and toss them in a smaller area to make room for the newly dead. There's simply not enough room for everyone. It's just nature taking back what's hers. It's kind of beautiful.
This is a geologist's perspective on the matter. Another factor to consider with regard to the condition of that cemetery (and a great many others in Louisiana) is the clay that forms the surface of much of southern Louisiana. Clays tend to shrink then swell as they are subjected to periods of drying and wetting. This causes the vaults to shift and crack over time. In some areas, the shrinking/swelling is so marked over many decades that vaults are broken open and caskets exposed. Ultimately, caretakers of many cemeteries give up attempting to maintain the crypts because they can't keep up with the damage caused by Mother Nature.
I hear you, some of the crypts look like they are swamped like boats tied to a dock and left to capsize. The again, maybe-I can't say for sure but hope to gosh so-people removed the remains of family, etc. and left the crypts in question in rubble. Particularly the really torn up ones, like the one Veteran in the beginning(or whomever the flag was set IMO). Still, to leave the demo behind vs. clearing it suggests that the locals didn't give a continental about these people, and their deplorable condition. Not like they can defend themselves or speak out. 😢
Heartbreaking, disturbing and dehumanizing. You did a great job showing this disaster and you did it in a respectful way. Could a historical society, local group, someone, take an area or 20 graves at a time and at least TRY to give these souls some dignity. Thank you.
This cemetery is only 1.5 miles from the Mississippi river, it has flooded many time. You can not dig a grave 6' due to the water table being only about 3', that is why you see so many double and even triple stacked vaults, the vault you see on top is sometimes the second vault with the first just underground with it's top flush with the ground. Some of the metal caskets you saw probably once had a second vault on top that floated off or collapsed during a flood leaving the now exposed casket in the first vault . I know some old cemeteries in Galveston, the tops of the vaults are just sticking up out of the water of a now flooded field.
You aren't disrespectful...you are just showing us how sad these poor souls graves have deteriorated over the many years... you are just showing us how incredibly sad it is to see. I was worried you may miss your footing and fall...but thank you for showing such sad scenes of loved ones left and forgotten.......😢😢 Thank you and God bless you.....
This cemetery is in Louisiana which would help explain the state of it. I have seen hurricanes destroy cemeteries. Years ago a friend of my parents returned to her home and found her dining room window smashed and a coffin on the table. Flooding and storms take a toll on places like this.
Exactly. Those Graves were uprooted by disaster at one time and caskets floating down the streets with no way to identify. It is indeed truly sad. I'm a veteran too but much of that damage was not by vandalism. I do wish it could be cleaned up but I saw very little ID on many of those. Sad.
Sad as it may be, it’s possible that it might not be a perpetual care cemetery. My great-grandparents are buried in such a cemetery, & it’s basically up to us to go out every so often & clean up & maintain their burial site. Eventually, nature reclaims everything.
Yeah that's the sad reality of it. But when you really think about it it's bizarre the way we want to preserve the dead forever, how would that even be possible? Eventually the whole world would be nothing but cemetery, they need to crumble away eventually to make room for something new.
It says- historical perpetual care cemetery on the sign out front. But it's run by an LLC- business. Which is horrible. It should be run by local government beholden to the people.
How Absolutely Heartbreaking! Yes! A News Crew Seriously "NEEDS" To See This!! At The Very Least, People Can See The Disrespect Going On Here & Hopefully The Community Will Get Together & Fix This Atrocity!!
people don't even care about the condition it's in because the graves sit in the sun all dam day and for years and years and YEARS! people just don't give a sh..
Unfortunately this is not the only cemetery in Louisiana like this… there are quite a few 😕 The one I visited, which was Sweet Olive .. the local university was trying to clean it up 😓😓
The cemetery where my family is buried does a half ass job of mowing the ground there. There are dead branches hanging on just about every tree in there. I worked for a family friend doing landscaping and he let me use the equipment trailer. I got 5-6 of my cousins and we went in there and cleaned up the whole cemetery. Took us all day, but it was well worth it .
Those folks are proud to live like this. If they're not robbing the graves, emotying deceased bodies on the ground, they're dumping garbage in the cemetery.
I am not trying to sound callous here. Many people want to describe the problem like this and complain. But there is no entity that has responsibility for it at this point. Whatever organization formed this cemetery is clearly insolvent and defunct. The local government has no responsibility unless enough political pressure is exerted on them to do something - and then it is at taxpayer expense. The reality is the only thing that fixes this, or keeps many other cemeteries maintained is VOLUNTEERS. It is up to the family members of the buried, or other concerned people to organize and to the grunt work, and donate. I know this first hand only because I am a volunteer at a local cemetery where my son is buried.
Blame the drug smoking, crack taking, and meth injecting citizens of a community, our country ain't what it use to be, face the music, and no one cares unless it benefits them, God is out of the equation.
There is no quick fix for this problem as it would take years to completely repair, restore and maintain all of this, the only answer is to disinter all the graves and cremate them as if left like this in another 10 or more years it will be worse, so cremation is the only answer.
@@markbeckham7298 Well-intended recommendation. But like with any of these cemetery issues, who pays for the considerable cost to do that, even if it could be accomplished?
@Giulio Cesare I'm sure many have living descendants and relatives that's probably forgotten about or do not care, or don't have the time or the money to do anything
There has to be criminal or civil liability for this. In Wisconsin, where I'm from, there are laws about cemeteries and their upkeep & maintenance. Primarily the really old cemeteries like ones that are just random sections of land with 10-50 maybe graves and veterans as well.
I remember as a teenager we had major flooding in my hometown and a cemetery that was near my home had serious erosion and seven coffins went down the hill into peoples front yards. And many of the coffin contents had been displaced from their containers! People utterly petrified from what they saw.
I live outside of New Orleans in one of the hardest hit areas of Hurricane Katrina. So many of our cemeteries ended up like this because of the wind and water damage. We had caskets from cemeteries floating miles down the road. They were old cemeteries just like this, so it could be the same type of situation, unfortunately. Even after all of these years, there is still so much disrepair especially to the cemeteries because people couldn’t afford to fix them up.
This scale of neglect and abandonment didn't simply happen overnight. As Thomas (commenting below) has pointed out, there has to be the willingness for communities to accept responsibility and to take action. Further, a lot of cemetery maintenance is unpaid. Sad, but that's the reality of it.
Where are the families of these people.You should be reading out the names.The families are the ones that should feel ashamed.When was the last time they visited?
@@cherylnelson3554 Familes here in the US aren't always connected in the same way as others. Some long-term decedents simply no longer have any living relatives left, in the area or not. "Arrangments'?. What would those entail, exactly?. Also, some cemeteries and counties have pre-existing rules and regulations surrounding maintenanace, as to who carries it out, how, and when. If it were that simple, this situation wouldn't be one, in the first place.
My family believes in cremation also. My friends father died. He wanted to be cremated but his other son said no so they took out a 10k loan and had a funeral and buried their father. Crazy... poor guy his final wishes were not granted. 50/ 100 yrs from today his gravesite will be forgotten also.
I view it beautiful, raw and honest. Indicative of a community worn and tired. No doubt hurricanes have brushed their strokes against weary landscapes. The soil isn't an unpleasant place to be swallowed up and nourished in. It knows what to do. Carefully shedding and repurposing as elements commonly do. Allow it to unapologetically tell you its story within folds of grass and leaves. Stories whispered against wavering elms and crooked branches. It sheds no tears for withered leaves. So too, our bodies disapate over courses of time. Even names, rubbed away. Unashamed of exposure. Allow it to be what it is. So much to draw from. X
In a way, I think its kinda beautiful to see nature taking over. I'd go out there and scatter wildflower seeds into the open coffins. It is sad they stopped taking care of the grounds but seeing flowers coming out of the graves would be a beautiful circle of life kind of thing.
I'm watching from Australia. This is heart breaking to say the least. My eyes filled with tears early in your vlog at the sight of the veterans destroyed tomb. Is this all storm damage or vandalism as well? I see nicely kept gardens in the surrounding homes; how hard would it be for each household to pop over with a fully fuelled weed whacker and do a section at a time?
Storm damage from continued hurricanes and flooding. It’s located on the gulf coast that’s why they’re on top of the ground. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s over 200 years old. No relative alive. It’s a swamp
I'm from the R. of S.A. Our cemeteries were always beautifully kept. Sadly, it's no longer the case. As with almost everything, our cemeteries now looks like this too. 😪
I would say from storm damage. Plus all the families are gone now and no one is responsible for it. Very sad. Most cemeteries in US are not built like they are in New Orleans. Because of the water table they were/are interned above ground
What you don’t understand is a lot of these cemeteries In Louisiana were damaged by the hurricanes that came through. Hurricane Katrina alone demolished and unearthed many graves from cemeteries. Flood waters cause a lot of this damage and it’s not on the priority list to fix or repair. I can see the water damage on the stones.
,,,and Louisiana is just plain poor, 3rd world, and no different than most Caribbean nations, if these hurricanes happened in a place like Iowa they would still be kept tip top, pristine shape, grounds mowed, stones replaced or leveled and trash gone.
I believe I'd be afraid of just dropping in on somebody unexpected. It looks like that once all of the money that was made from selling plots dried up the people that was in charge of this graveyard just threw in the towel ( so to speak), said the heck with it and this is truly heartbreaking to realize. Nobody whatsoever should be left to be forgotten and never be cared about ever again because it's just another form of depravity and no consideration at all. 😥
Actually, I like the fact that these grounds are slowly being reclaimed by nature. Face it, most of the deceased are long dead and have few (if any) living relatives or friends left in the area. And I can assure you that NO state or local agency has the funds (or inclination) to spend precious tax dollars on a long abandoned cemetery in one of the poorest states in the country. Indeed, this is Louisiana and as we saw with "Katrina," (along with countless other named and unnamed storms) their water table is high, the land at or below sea level and the disinterment of vaults, graves and of course their 'contents' are pretty much the norm rather than the exception. Putting up a safety fence and allowing the forces of nature to continue reclaiming this site, while also insuring that local historical societies document and record the names of all who are interred would certainly be a sensible and fairly inexpensive solution to this situation. Because one day in the not so distant future, enough storms will pass as to destroy these grounds forever, erasing for all time the names of those who were once loved and remembered in this little field of wildflowers and weeds. (p.s.....Please stop beating yourself up as you were EXTREMELY sensitive and respectful to the grounds and its occupants!) p.p.s.....Please consider showing various names and dates of the deceased, as I (and assuredly others) simply stopped watching after some 15 minutes of non-historical context.
Well I watched the video and wasn't at all put off by the non-historical information Im from aotearoa (NZ) and our cemeteries don't ever end up looking unkept regardless, it's the saddest thing to see .
@@fionacameron6215 "I'm from Aotearoa (NZ) and our cemeteries don't ever end up looking unkempt, (sic) regardless." Oh Dear. Are you QUITE certain? Maori sympathies aside, I'm afraid your confidence over the "unkempt" state of New Zealand cemeteries is NOT shared by your country people. From Kerikeri to Invercargill, some 20 percent (or more) of New Zealand's 2,188 cemeteries have decayed into a "neglected, abandoned mess," replete with sunken open graves, cracked, shattered, toppled and missing headstones/markers, vandalism on the daily and of course, massive vegetative overgrowth. Indeed, perhaps most interesting (aside from the man-high weeds that give these graveyards a sort of Van Gogh "field of grass" appearance) are the countless photo's of mature trees and overgrown shrubs using (rather intelligently I think) the contents of these abandoned graves as "potting soil." Truth be told 'Fiona,' rather than taking the word of this pesky American, get out and take a gander for yourself. I'm even happy to highlight a few of my favorites, including Taran Cemetery in Thames, (which has been rudely upchucking its neglected inhabitants into the Firth of Thames for years) Arawhata Cemetery near Jackson Bay, (squint really hard and you 'might just' make out a grave or two) and Ratanui Cemetery in Owaka, where a local farmer got so fed up with his cattle constantly falling into rotting graves that he paid for a "damned fence" to be erected around the "rotting eyesore" himself. One more thing: not all Kiwi's are good Kiwi's, as numerous New Zealand Veteran Associations can attest. Some not-so-nice "Aotearoan's" have been systematically vandalizing the markers of your hero's by prying off their copper name-plates and selling them for scrap. Jerks. I hope they fall in a sunken grave.
@@dawnehelene59 Wow! And I was just about to give the unofficial award for best kept cemeteries country to NZ. As you have illuminated, there is always two sides to every story. But kidding aside, this is very much a global problem, not just prevalent in a few countries.
*I truly advise you to wear big and tall boots,* to explore such places. Scorpions, snakes and spiders are a real danger. Be rubber or leather boots, make sure you wear the tall ones.
I realize this was a year ago, and it is sad, but the truth is that as old as these graves are, there's a good chance the bodies have completely decomposed by now. Remember, the body isn't the person but a shell. Many of these graves may not have family's in the area to tend to them. It does look like some work has started, I hope it continues. There was a hurricane mentioned, and that alone can cause a lot of damage. There may be no money to help with this sad situation. I pray that your video will reach those who are called to restore these memorials. Your love and concerning heart may be the first step in restoring this beautiful old cemetery ✝️🙏💖🤗
I learned about these types of pods you could be buried in with a tree of your choice and be buried naturally in the ground sustaining that tree. This is just me, but if I were to be buried I’d rather have my own private land with a lot reserved as my family gravesite and give my family the option to be buried in these pods to grow a grove of trees with beautiful plaques as a memorial to know where we’ve been buried rather than having be buried in a airtight box or be burned to ashes. It would be a plot beautifully designed to be a garden. My tree would be the shelter provided to my descendants as they come to visit me to protect them from the heat of the hot sun and a sturdy place to rest. I would want my resting place to be a place of beauty and peace.
I am a cemetery rehab specialist in Virginia. A lot of that damage may be vandalism, in addition movement in the A horizon (top 30 inches of dirt) will cause uneven cemetery stones and slabs. Also if the concrete grave cover (slabs) do not contain reinforcing steel , that could account for all the broken slabs. That cemetery would take a large commitment by the town to put it in order...
Thank you so much for your post. I have to agree with you regarding the possibility of grave robbing/vandalism. Where's the dignity? Where's the respect? I thank the gentleman who filmed this cemetery as this is a huge problem that is extremely disturbing & it needs to be addressed. Hopefully with this posted video help will be on the way to restore the dignity & respect of the people buried here.
Oh man! You should volunteer your expertise! I've never heard of a cemetery rehab specialist. I think I would just shake my head and say, "it's hopeless".
Just saw this is in Baton Rouge and wondering if it's Hurricane damage and if the Federal Government and FEMA could get involved- the town certainly doesn't have this restoration in their budget. However it should be. Just curious bc I know nothing about how money is allocated in these situations. This is sad.
Right sir. You're NOT being disrespectful AT ALL. The folks responsible for this horrific neglect are the ones who are DISRESPECTFUL. There's NO EXCUSE for a cemetery to remain in such deplorable condition. Not surprising at all that it's a cemetery in Louisiana.
This makes my heart sad. I come from a family that always cared for the graves of the family dead and the graves of others that were neglected. So sad because these were all people who had lives, loves, hopes and fears, dreams, humanity. Their graves should be respected. Thank you for showing us this vid. I had no idea such places existed. Surely something could be done. Many would donate.
Who…on earth…would ever let this happen??? This is also possibly a health risk. RIP to all who are buried here. This should be a criminal investigation!!
A non profit currently has it but they have no money and only have volunteer cleanups periodically. The cemetery is the oldest African American cemetery in Baton Rouge. It was shut down by the health department to new burials in 1925.
I'm sure the community could help out. This is the oldest black cemetery there? Cant get some funding from the state or govt. Cant disrespect the dead.RIP start go find me page 4 donations.
@@nodnarb101 there may not be a heath risk but surely it's a liability for anyone falling into a grave that'has collapsed, and sunk into the ground? Rip to all who are buried there.
Imagine how much money their families paid for coffins, funeral, burial cost……. FOR WHAT?!?! The ONLY ones who benefit from all of that are the businesses.
Believe it or not, General Sam Houston's grave in Huntsville TX once looked exactly like some of these! Mama and I visited it in the late 60s. An inscription said, 'The world will take care of Houston's fame.' Huh. For a while there it didn't even care about his grave. It's been taken care of since, thank goodness. Beautifully repaired and maintained. These poor people!
I want to start off by saying Thank You for your service. 🇺🇸 Louisiana has its own culture, which you are experiencing right now. The state sits below sea level, making it hard sometimes to get creative on how to bury the dead. This is a typical cemetery in La. I agree, it needs some TLC, however, most of these graves are possibly over 100 yrs old or older. Their families are probabaly long gone as well, leaving no visitors. "Someone" has taken the time to get that TLC going. Cleaning the cemetery takes time due to the extreme heat & humidity. It's a very labor-type job. In most places, from what I can tell from your vid is that a lawn mower could not be used. Only a gas weed wacker. Also, La floods A LOT due to hurricanes & tropical storms. La still hasn't been able to fully recover from Katrina. One thing that can be done is to make waves on getting the cemetery listed as a historical cemetery. Enlist ppl in the community. You would be amazed at how many ppl would be willing to help, if only a handful. And a VERY important tip: You are worried about snakes, as you should be, BUT you are also in the middle of "gator"ville. Don't lose an arm. Best wishes!
I would help, with all seriousness. The landscaping for me would be so therapeutic. I'm glad someone commented with help, though! Keep us updated 💜. I've seen stacked graves, they're "family internments" or "family tombs" so you can all be buried together and take up less space.
So sad and disrespectful to our deceased loved ones. They were someone’s family. It doesn’t take much to at least cut the grass. I hope law enforcement finds out who is responsible for this vandalism and they need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law!!!!
Just because it's been vandalized, it doesn't mean that someone has done it. Someone has already said that it could have been done by flooding or hurricanes and we all know how bad the wind gets and what it can destroy. Someone also said that the owner could be deceased, so until u know what the facts are u need to STFU and keep ur opinions to urself.
This makes me look at cremation in a lot more favorable light. Why haven't they even attempted to at least rebury the coffins that are above ground? Where are relatives? Lord help these poor people. Who would think that a cemetary would just leave things this way. It's truly an outrage!!!
Because the water table is high in Louisiana. Bury them under the ground and they could very well float back up to the surface with enough rain. A lot of them look to be above-ground burials anyways.
im thankful to you showing us and you didn't get hurt. to be nice wording so no one offended. this really ticks off my family and I ... tho we don't have family in it
I have never in my life felt so badly for the dead. Thank God they don’t know how their final resting place has been kept up it hasn’t. The city should be ASHAMED of themselves!!!
In England 🇬🇧 the local councils and volunteers and relatives keep up the tidy work in the cemeteries and there are only victorian graves that are risen in tombstones the coffins are mostly underground and secure this is so sad
In most parts of the US graves are buried more deeply. In Louisiana, the shallow underground water table makes it often necessary to bury the dead close to ground level. I believe in New Orleans, many are in tombs above ground.
Each grave has it’s own story and eventually we all have to die. I miss my late mom every second but then i find peace in knowing that we all will pass through this brief life.
Time and nature eventually take their toll. The souls of these people have moved on and their bodies have returned to the earth. It’s doubtful many loved ones are still living to visit or care about the condition of the graves and cemetery. I don’t find any part of this disrespectful or tragic but I’m not a proponent of funerals and traditional burial either.
I'm inclined to agree with u, although I must wonder at the original management allowing the stacking of thin but still heavy concrete structures upon each other with no reinforcement between each one & allowing some enground enternments to be barely below the earths surface as well as placing each site so very close together. The mind just boggles in the search for reason.
In todays society, people have to pay for their burial plot. It's not Free. The plot cost includes perpetual care. So clearly these cemetary owners have taken the $$$ and used/embezzled it. SHAMEFUL
This is why I am being cremated as much as I love cemeteries they sometimes end up like this and in this area flooding may be damaged due to flooding. Your sinking down in the ground may be the reason why the place is overgrown with weeds it is obviously not safe to be mowing and weed whacking in this place. It is really in a sad state what a shame.
Here's my 2 cents: hand-wringing won't help the situation. Don't know about this community, but it may be that the community is struggling to care for the living, so the dead take a back seat. The answer may be a multi-faceted volunteer project. Firstly, identify the historical facts about the cemetery, ie. which plantations used it as their burying ground, which churches buried their congregants there, compile lists of those buried there either from newspaper obits (local newspapers may be online to research) or archived vital records. Next, identify the names of veterans that are buried there and fraternal organization members as there may be a grant or funds available from veterans' organizations or fraternal organizations for upgrading the condition of the cemetery. Are there any trade schools within 200 miles of this cemetery that are teaching masonry and concrete work? If so, maybe they could be persuaded to bring their students in for some hands-on experience reconstructing some of the brick barriers and structures. What is the name of this cemetery? Does it appear on the website Find-a-Grave? One of the best ways to drum up support for this type of project is to make the public aware of it, particularly those that may have a loved one buried there. I'm too old to offer physical labor, but would be willing and able to help with gathering data and compiling lists of those buried there from records if I can find access to same. Are there sexton's records for this cemetery? Has anyone checked with the local library or county historical society? A temporary grid and sections could be set up there, and a team of volunteers could do a 2 or 3 day walk through recording any names and dates from the markers. If this cemetery isn't already on Find a Grave someone (I can do it) can post information on markers and memorials as they are located. Another team of people with gas or battery powered weedwackers could tidy the place up a bit, and maybe a dumpster could be rented to haul away some of the debris like the appalling casket just laying there. Right now government agencies and historical societies are mulling over raising up and restoring a sunken slave ship that was recently discovered. If that can be done, certainly something can be done about this cemetery with a little determination and brain storming.
Well said Mom. And thank you for saying it too. "Hand wringing" is definitely a term I need to add to my vocabulary. Have you ever participated in an effort like the one you are describing? I love your pragmatism, and willingness to help, as well. I think alot of us could benefit from exposure to that kind of thinking.
This is absolutely horrible. Where the hell is the community and civic leaders. Where are my patriots and my male leaders? I wished I lived in that community. Shameful we treat our dead like this. God help us all.
I love old cemeteries. This was a heartwrenching experience! I was anxious for you just watching you walk through this cemetery. It is very difficult to watch knowing there have been much flooding and hurricanes. Thank you for your time, effort and energy on this video AND! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!!
There are other states with privately owned cemeteries in similar shape....Rhode Island comes to mind. Another vlogger did a vid on it. Garbage piled on veterans's graves, public mausoleum building condemned with caskets and ashes inside. Solution is volunteers working for free.
I know what mausoleum you’re taking about. I believe it’s in Providence. It was privately owned and the owners died But the condition now is horrendous! I can’t believe a family member who leave a deceased family member there Various groups have tried to get the city to do something,and nothing
Please make copies of this video and send them to your local and state officials. Also to your local and perhaps national news stations. This is deplorable! This needs to be addressed immediately. Besides the disrespect, this could be a health issue. God bless you for making this public.
@@rogercarroll2551 If it is privately owned, then a court order should be issued to the owners to clean it up and bring it up to code. This is just outrageous and no excuse is acceptable for allowing this to stay in its present condition.
@@rogercarroll2551 and your point...States regularly confiscate land for various reasons, most of the hem for profit/taxation reasons...the twin towers were privately owned...all across this nation banks own abandoned buildings and homes that many people become injured in etc...if you did your homework before responding you would know there already is written laws that the US government has ultimate jurisdiction and responsibility even over State responsibilities...but money is found to give to foreign nations and private residential fences around the homes of politicians but never the money for graves like the veterans in this graveyard or citizens who paid taxes all their lives...go ahead and pay to own a business and not pay your taxes and watch how fast they spend money to shut you down...open some law books and use your mind before showing the public how ignorant you presently are.
@@planetaryjanet You would think so. But most of the original entities that owned or operated these cemeteries are insolvent, if they exist any longer at all. Basically, in many cases, there is no money to go after.
Hummmmmmm, This didn't happen overnight. Attend a city meeting as new business to raise awareness and begin solicitation for repair funds from city, county, and your State. You will be surprised how many people want to help but don't know how. We have a Gravestone restoration business and every day of work is great satisfaction.
Also those above ground cement graves were very common dating back to the 1800,s and these cemeteries were at one point in time family property and land but now in modern day time after centuries and being passed down ppl parish and the family land eventually becomes abandoned and the city takes over and malls go up, highway's, buildings, subdivisions and modern times take over thus leaving these historical family cemeteries just abandoned.i grew up in the south so these types of cemeteries were common to run across in the 80s&90s right before modern times were hitting and more and more of those single family homes and subdivisions started popping up everywhere.. But in 1980 my stepfather took us to his family cemetery owned by his family for generations on the family farm land property and it was even astonishing seeing those old above ground cement graves and actually looking at graves dating back to pre war times and some dating back as early as 1840 but over the years and generations and family dying wills and property being passed down over time the city got those properties and this is the final result, sadly malls, highrise buildings, and subdivisions popped up everywhere and these just sit abandoned.
This cemetery is probably already city owned and therefore the state of Louisiana is ultimately responsible to maintain and protect the graves from vandalism. A class action suit needs to be filled by an attorney on behalf of the families of the people buried there. The neglect is horrific and there is no excuse to allow this cemetery to be left in this deplorable condition.
I believe the officials owners are still the First African Benevolent Society and the Sons & Daughters of Mt Pleasant Baptist Society. The two fraternal orders owned the property jointly till about 1975, then separated the property with each taking a designated section. Now they're organized as a non-profit cemetery corporation.
This is a damn shame how they've kept the cemetery so disrespectful so sad the disrespect for the deceased stuff like this just pisses me off to the Core R.I.P to everyone in there you got families members that are there broken caskets not caring for anything this is just so depressing
Thank you for your work. This video was interesting and I love history so it’s very appreciated. I wish you had given us the year of birth and death of the people buried. This graveyard is apparently in this shape due to the graves being in an area which is below sea level and close to the Mississippi River. The comfort for the families and the people who have been disturbed by watching this is that this is only their bodies. Their souls have left this earth. Visit the grave yard in New Orleans!
There's only one way to look at this: the needs of the living take precedence over the *lack* of needs of the dead, especially in our poorer states. Sorry to bring this harsh truth to light. Even the prisoner solution would come with a substantial price tag; all that "free" labor must be transported, fed, and supervised.
My grandparents lived in Pocahontas all of their life. I visited them often. Went there in the 60s, 70, and 80s, and 90s. That cemetery has always looked like that for as long as I can remember. Used to explore it myself. It's so sad it's still like that.
Dude... it's up to the ancestors (family) to upkeep their loved ones graves. There are NO ancestors left alive. Besides, their loved ones are NOT THERE. Their empty vessels have long ago disintegrated. The Spirit says to take the flowers home and enjoy them.
There are two places on our earth, that deserve to be kept in pristine condition, without any exemptions, and they are churches, irrespective of religion, and cemeteries. All local governments across the globe should hang their heads in shame, to allow any cemetery to fall into disrepair. This video has saddened me. Your last resting place should be one of respect and well kept. I’m beyond words watching this video. Those poor deceased people deserve better. 👎🙏🏼
erm churches? Not to the many who don't believe in your delusion. I could care less what happens to them. Just another building made by man to rake in money.
Everyone always puts churches and all of its congregates in this high rank of morale, where are all them church folk in that area now? I’m sure many of them are driving by on that road there fully aware of the state of that cemetery.
Atrocious conditions this should be on their local news its disgraceful and dangerous. The laws regarding burial in this state must be nonexistent. I live in Pennsylvania our vets and lots of volunteers pitch in to tend to cemeteries before they fall into this kind of disrepair. This needs serious attention
I knew as soon as I saw this Cemetery , that you were in Louisiana. Where the ground water level is too high, they bury the bodies above ground. And when the body has decade, they remove the bones, or push them to the side, and then bury another body in the same crypt. This area also is prone to flooding. So it is very difficult to maintain. The area was a French Colonie. So their are some very different practices than in the rest of the United States. It actually doesn't look as bad as some others I have seen. But Louisiana is not really known for a place to visit Cemeterys.
For most people, 75 years after your death, not a single living person knows you existed. I can go three generations back to Italian immigrants, but I have no information about family in the old country.
Blows my mind. You wouldn't see this where I live (Australia) as cemetaries are so heavily regulated. My mum (mom) is intered at a family plot at a maori cemetary in New Zealand, I give some money each year to help maintain it, but it's piece of mind knowing that mum is being looked after. My Dad on the other had is buried in a really crappy cemetary in Italy (where he was born and raised and lived out the last 4 years of his life, died 2002), I've only visited it once and honestly he may as well be in an unmarked grave. To be fair, part of that was due to Dad alienating us (my 3 half brothers, my sister and me), when he died I was 27 and still angry with him for being a shitty Dad (hadn't seen or spoken to him since 1996), so when my older brother phoned me telling me he died and our italian relatives were wanting money to bury him, I literally said "Tell them to Go f**k themselves", my brother replied with "yeah I thought you'd say that, you gotta let it go brother". Years later I found out that Mum (who he divorced in 1987, second of 4 wives) actually gave most of the money bury him, I asked her why and she said "Antonio, your Dad had many faults, but he still deserved to be buried with respect. It's not our place to judge him what he did.". Mum always had a way with words and way of making me self reflect, she been gone 9 years, miss her terribly. I forgave my Dad a long time ago, but watching your video has made me want to go and visit my Dad's grave and see if I can do something to improve it. Thank you for sharing this.
Who's place is it to judge the way he literally lived his life then? An entity that was unaffected by his.life? I don't think you should forgive him because it's not your job to judge, but you should forgive to get that resentment out of your spirit.
@@shannond1511 what business is it of yours to make that assessment about me and the relationship I had with my father? My forgiveness of him and what he did to me was not something I came to easily. I could go into more detail about how I came to that point, but honestly I dont want to get into it with someone like you.
@mixmmick Your mum (I'm assuming is Maori?) clearly looked at death in the same beautiful way that all Maori people traditionally did. Death, as is life, is such a sacred thing to our people. The time spent at the marae after the passing of a loved one, all sharing the same floor, sleeping next to the dead for several days leading up to the tangi (funeral) and sharing stories with each other but speaking with the dead directly as we hug them in their casket and forgiving them for past mistakes or any differences you may have had with them or whatever (for example) So her paying for the burial of your estranged father ,I imagine, was out of respect for the fact that, regardless of whether or not he was a bad man or bad father, he was still your father. That's beautiful bro. Your mum sounds like she was an amazing wāhine (woman)
@Nicks Hobbies & Customs thanks mate, yes Mum was Maori though lived most of her life here in Australia (moved here at 17 with 3 siblings and her stepdad who was scottish but raised in NZ). She was a wonderful lady, miss her everyday, was 10 years back in March. One of big regrets is not learning more about my heritage while she was alive, I've learned bits and pieces over the years from various people (my brother in law mostly, he's maori), but not much. The whole family is heading to NZ in June for my sisters 50th (my sisters lived in NZ since 1993, I lived there briefly when she first moved there). Mum is buried in Nelson but my sis is in Rotorua so we're all making the trek down. My nephew (my sisters eldest) lives in Auckland and he asked if I'd come up and visit, he lived in Australia with me for a few years while doing his electrical apprenticeship (my older brother had an electrical business so took him on), I'm basically a second father to him, so the wife and I are staying an extra week while kids head back home.
Why does it bother people so much that our bodies decay? Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Everything decays. I'd much rather see a cemetery reclaimed by nature that a stone field. Besides with respect to Sustainability, long live aquamation and body composting and natural burials. Use your remains to protect nature and help it thrive. Moreover consider funding. If you had x million dollars, would you fix a cemetery or use it for healthcare? Or education? Insert other public service for the living. Even as s veteran, would you prefer a pristine grave, and then I'd recommend a military grave yard, Or would you prefer the money to work for veterans, for programmes for them and their families, health, re-integration etc.
Speechless 😶 Wish they can use tax money to pay for new graves in all cemeteries like this and stop spending money on bs! Makes me mad 😡 Appreciate you for sharing this!
This is disgusting! I am speechless! If somebody came around tearing up me or my families gravesite, I would be enraged but not able to do anything, like anybody else. RIP and God Bless all. This is what the indigenous people must feel about how we deface all their burial mounds
@@Gentlebreeze397 I am not from that area, but I have heard of flooding can make some coffins float up. Just never like this extent. It's still sad be and angers me everybody seems to know what might be the reason, but nobody does anything. I live in Missouri, so what I saw and heard I apologize if I offended anyone with my ignorance. God Bless everyone.🕊️
This is actually a reminder of how eventually everyone who dies is forgotten. It shows the reality of what it means to keep the remains of those who have passed. Families become more and more distant, and its not long before the only family alive has never met those who passed. Primarily I fault the city management for allowing people to use a cemetery that is so completely overcrowded that they are stacking them on top of each other. Even the city has forgotten what it means to manage. It looks like this is in hurricane territory with the flooding that is common with hurricanes and tornados. Plus everything is so old its already weather worn. I couldn't read hardly any of the markers.
This is very disturbing. If the owners died, the city should take it over and take care of it. I hate to see things like this happen to gravesites. So heartbreaking. No excuse for this to happen.
I hope the local community raises their voice to begin repairs to these 100 year-old graveside. What was once a somber place holds a century of historical remains ofenslaved and ancestors who deserve respect and care. This destruction can be reversed and put right. Shame on the city for its neglect !
A 100 years from now the nicest cemeteries in America will probably be like this as well , I believe that we can all be remembered in the Internet cloud now and cemeteries should start being phased out . it's a waste of beautiful land And it's not sustainable permanently. I love going to cemeteries and reading people's names and the dates and admiring the beauty of the landscaping but I also know they are not sustainable and they take up a lot of space. Eventually we will all be forgotten even Cleopatra.
I understand your reverence for the dead but I'm guessing the state of this place has more to do with the fact that it's located in a floodplain than anything disrespectful. This is just what happens when we insist on burying every last person that dies instead of using alternatives like cremation. There isn't enough room and eventually everyone connected to us will also pass away leaving nobody to maintain our graves; its not as disrespectful as you're making it out to be
And the descendants may be scattered, long gone. The current generation may know next-to-nothing (if that) about their ancestors from whom they are separated by multiple generations.
I Feel so grateful that my Hubby is in a National (military) Cemetery, And I will be able to be in it withhim when I die. This will never happen to us.
I’m not a morbid person but I love old cemeteries!!! It makes u wonder about the life and history of each person buried there!!
Ed we would get along swimmingly! I’m addicted as well. My phone is overflowing with pictures.
Me too!
It’s not morbid, I have always been fascinated by old cemeteries. So much history. LA gets hurricanes, no money left (I guess) to fix and maintain the cemeteries. I think it would be a good idea to use prisoners to clean this up, for reduced sentences,
SAME HERE.
Me too.
They should start a prison program and let the prisoners clean that place up the men and the women as well. We pay enough taxes to keep prisoner's its costly so let them earn their keep! That cemetery is disgraceful be it from storms or vandalism there is no excuse for keeping it that way!
This is a slave cemetery. No one vandalized this it's Louisiana, much of Louisiana is below sea level, these graves are built above the ground, the ground is very unstable. I'm sure most if not all of the relatives are no longer alive to take care of these Graves. Being that many of these Graves if not most are slaves they may not have even had relatives that knew of their graves. Money has run out. This is the usual outcome of all cemeteries sooner or later. When the ground shifts the stones, bricks and cement crack and separate. the lids to the vaults shift and fall in on the casket.
Awesome suggestion 👏.
The city should have funding put a side to cut this and bill the owners of the cemetery. These families paid them a good amount for theirs families final resting place.
Exactly, I agree with you 100%
Bad place for ticks in that tall grass and weeds all through their
HI
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HIGHLIGHTING Sweet Olive Cemetery. I am the founder of Friends of Sweet Olive Cemetery nonprofit. We are working towards getting the entire Cemetery renewed. I would love to have your video on our social media platforms. The more increased exposure the more pressure we can o apply to the people in charge.
this is a new defenition of the word shame
Amen
@KedaDoDeals
What a gracious kind soul you are to attempt to organize and care for the dead in Sweet Olive Cemetery.
I restore thousands of headstones a year in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. I am more than willing to get in contact with you to find out some information. I can then find out who to speak to and get this place it's dignity back and respect the dead
That’s great that you offer, and I mean no offense, but I’m sure you are not looking to bear the expense for that effort. So, who will pay you?
@@thomasmint1761 I get donations for the most part via Cash App. But, I do spend alot of my own money to renew headstones on site.... especially the forgotten ones
Each grave marker generally costs around $10 for the cleaning solution. Depending on the stone material and the cemetery sometimes it is more. I typically use a natural concoction that I have found to work very well on most surfaces. No power washing. Alot of scrubbing, rinses and tooth brush work.
The average trip to do headstones are generally older cemeteries that aren't well cared for. My philosophy is we die twice in life. Once when our body does and last when our name is no longer spoken. I just try to give back to the ones that were here before me and people loved.
@@superdave77 That is great. Isn’t it safe to say here though that the majority of effort and cost in restoring this cemetery is the cleanup of debris, clearing of overgrown plants, and structural repair of broken monuments? Not so much cleaning of headstones?
@@thomasmint1761 When I travel I try to find locals to help with the cleanup. Several times we have replaced vaults that were broken, but only if the family is okay with it. If the family cannot be found then it is up to the cemetery
Yes, it's sad... but it's inevitable. After 50 years or so (average), graves aren't visited any more. Eventually, a graveyard isn't maintained any more, either. So in the cemetery in the video, there is hardly a vase of flowers anywhere. Not even a glass jar with withered flowers. And now the cemetery itself is decaying. It happens to all cemeteries sooner or later. All the great cemeteries of Roman Britain, for example, with their mausoleums and tombs, have long disappeared and are reduced to archaeological traces. So what we are seeing here is the start of that inevitable process. Dust we are, to dust we return.
And then they'll put a Walmart on your behind...
Nope, nope, nope...
Nonsense… Have you ever heard of the word Refurbish or remodel? That’s what we do in the United States.. We don’t accept this type of disrespect… These people deserve respect forever… not just on the day their tombs were sealed
I went to holy cross catholic cemetery in San Diego two days ago it’s absolutely beautiful and very well maintained. My husband and I will be there someday.
@@stevetrivago That is BS! I volunteered at a hospital with a cemetery across the street with graves from 1700-1800’s. No flowers. No present day burials. Obviously all families of these deceased were also deceased. The hospital bought the cemetery, supposedly moved all the bodies (?) and put a parking lot over it.
Woodbury, NJ. USA
Those are what is known as floating Cemetery or floating caskets but I do think someone should make some phone calls to see about getting the grass cut
I'm surprised no one noted that Ella Hayes died at 105 years old. Born before Reconstruction ended and died just a few days before Reagan was inaugurated. Lived that long only to have an open grave, ironically considering it is one of the newer graves in that cemetery.
Woman was born in 1875 and lived for 106 years only to have her grave desecrated like that, unbelieveable!!!!!
its not like she can complain about it. she led a long life, now she is no more on this plane of existence. it does not bother her anymore as it should not bother others. nature reclaims all in the end. if there were no humans to take care of the death of others we would simply be given back to nature as intended. we humans have rituals for everything for no reason but our own.
It's sad but after all that time there's liley nobody in her family that's still alive or will remember her. That's just the reality of cemeteries.
These types of cemeteries may look like they've been vandalized, but in reality it was probably due to flooding and hurricanes, especially in La., and also possibly due to the cemetery being abandoned because the owners are deceased now and didn't leave it to anyone in a will or whatever. In places where the water table is high (low-lying lands) caskets come up to the surface a lot during flooding and sometimes you can see videos after floods of caskets floating down the street. Also, whoever designed this cemetery didn't leave much space in between the graves for a mower to go through. It looks like someone would have to go through with a weed-wacker in some of those areas.
Yes, and some of these above-ground vaults are very old and were poorly constructed in the first place, so naturally there's deterioration. The only issues I see that are truly avoidable are the close proximity of the graves (which precludes fitting a lawn mower down the rows) and the obvious lack of weed-eating by Winfield Cemetery Stewards LLC, which is responsible for the maintenance of the site.
I was gonna say the exact same because you're absolutely correct..I realized this when I was a child and my stepfathers entire family dating back to mid 1800s were all buried in a private cemetery on his great-grandfathers property/land and that was in 1980 I believe however over the years and with the property being passed down and down and his relatives passing on eventually in the 2000s property was unclaimed and the state took the property and over time they just leave these types of family cemeteries abandoned basically yet untouched tho so it's not always about how families just abandon their loved ones it's just over history we all parish and return to the earth so it's just fact that they become abandoned.. imagine the Egyptians and the hundreds of tombs they've excavated and removed from under the earth where the Egyptians believed they'd be buried together under those pyramids for eternity and now in modern day they're actually building cities and malls in those exactl spot's.. same with some of these in parts of America they've removed some cemetery where 200 yrs ago it was family farm land and now today in modern time the city owns said properties and are tearing up those spots putting up high rise apartments, malls, and buildings.. It's just a sad fact.
Can you read any names and dates on them? Did hurricane come through there?
@@mariallen3995 The names and dates are visible on a lot of them, and about 5,000 of them are documented on Find A Grave. The most recent hurricane (Ida in late 2021) brought plenty of wind and about 10 inches of rain into Baton Rouge (where this old cemetery is located).
@@bramlintrent1145 It just hurts my heart to see that.
Cremation, Aquamation, Composting of the deceased makes so much sense to me after seeing this disaster. Rest in peace
33:17 Ella Hayes died at the age of 105 years. this is how her grave looks 41 years after her passing, unbelievable.
The climate is rugged there!
Most cemetery plots are only good for 50 years, then they dig you up, pulverize your remains and toss them in a smaller area to make room for the newly dead. There's simply not enough room for everyone. It's just nature taking back what's hers. It's kind of beautiful.
IN FRANCE the dead were exhumed & buried in the Paris mines (catacombs)
I noticed that too.
@@sambowz9077 what's that water in the grave
This is a geologist's perspective on the matter. Another factor to consider with regard to the condition of that cemetery (and a great many others in Louisiana) is the clay that forms the surface of much of southern Louisiana. Clays tend to shrink then swell as they are subjected to periods of drying and wetting. This causes the vaults to shift and crack over time. In some areas, the shrinking/swelling is so marked over many decades that vaults are broken open and caskets exposed. Ultimately, caretakers of many cemeteries give up attempting to maintain the crypts because they can't keep up with the damage caused by Mother Nature.
Riiiiiiiiight it still shouldn't stop them from the upkeep in that cemetery
Not to mention most of the vaults are just unfinished concrete slabs with no sort of weather proofing.
Get buried in a Catholic cemetary. Ours is huge, fenced in and in PERFECT condition. Kind of by a main street, but it's still nice.
I hear you, some of the crypts look like they are swamped like boats tied to a dock and left to capsize. The again, maybe-I can't say for sure but hope to gosh so-people removed the remains of family, etc. and left the crypts in question in rubble. Particularly the really torn up ones, like the one Veteran in the beginning(or whomever the flag was set IMO). Still, to leave the demo behind vs. clearing it suggests that the locals didn't give a continental about these people, and their deplorable condition. Not like they can defend themselves or speak out. 😢
That's why I'm our country we have the opportunity to bury our loved ones on their own land so their graves will always be maintained by relatives
Heartbreaking, disturbing and dehumanizing. You did a great job showing this disaster and you did it in a respectful way. Could a historical society, local group, someone, take an area or 20 graves at a time and at least TRY to give these souls some dignity. Thank you.
You must turn the footage over to your local news station to the investigative Department. Thank you for your service Sir!😇🙏❤🇺🇸
Ssd
She’s correct , tv news will get the ball rolling. Your NBC local station does well @ this.
I’m sure the local news to this cemetery is aware. This is something for a larger news source.
Who's going to maintain it? These peoples loved ones are probably all deceased as well.
This cemetery is only 1.5 miles from the Mississippi river, it has flooded many time.
You can not dig a grave 6' due to the water table being only about 3', that is why you see so many double and even triple stacked vaults, the vault you see on top is sometimes the second vault with the first just underground with it's top flush with the ground.
Some of the metal caskets you saw probably once had a second vault on top that floated off or collapsed during a flood leaving the now exposed casket in the first vault .
I know some old cemeteries in Galveston, the tops of the vaults are just sticking up out of the water of a now flooded field.
Do you know the name of this one? I like to visit them.
Where is it David ray?
I wondered about that.
That may be so, but in that situation Mausoleaums are buil on the ground to puth the vaults and coffins in them.
thank you for the information David. much appreciated.
You aren't disrespectful...you are just showing us how sad these poor souls graves have deteriorated over the many years... you are just showing us how incredibly sad it is to see. I was worried you may miss your footing and fall...but thank you for showing such sad scenes of loved ones left and forgotten.......😢😢 Thank you and God bless you.....
This cemetery is in Louisiana which would help explain the state of it. I have seen hurricanes destroy cemeteries. Years ago a friend of my parents returned to her home and found her dining room window smashed and a coffin on the table. Flooding and storms take a toll on places like this.
Omg so scary
I would not recover from that. 😬
Hahaha holy shit imagine having a coffin on your dining table, would make the toughest superstitious
Exactly. Those Graves were uprooted by disaster at one time and caskets floating down the streets with no way to identify. It is indeed truly sad. I'm a veteran too but much of that damage was not by vandalism. I do wish it could be cleaned up but I saw very little ID on many of those. Sad.
Oh dear Lord, I would move. No thank you.
Sad as it may be, it’s possible that it might not be a perpetual care cemetery. My great-grandparents are buried in such a cemetery, & it’s basically up to us to go out every so often & clean up & maintain their burial site. Eventually, nature reclaims everything.
Yeah that's the sad reality of it. But when you really think about it it's bizarre the way we want to preserve the dead forever, how would that even be possible? Eventually the whole world would be nothing but cemetery, they need to crumble away eventually to make room for something new.
It should be: that's the assumption from go. Ie, bury without a coffin in a forest. The tree can have a marker. Then you'll never, ever see this.
It says- historical perpetual care cemetery on the sign out front. But it's run by an LLC- business. Which is horrible. It should be run by local government beholden to the people.
@@Elysian777 It is a poor, Black cemetery in the Deep South. The White government does not care!
The county should be held responsible for that mess
Yeah, they should do at least basic maintenance to keep the site clean, tidy and respectful of the deceased.
How Absolutely Heartbreaking! Yes! A News Crew Seriously "NEEDS" To See This!! At The Very Least, People Can See The Disrespect Going On Here & Hopefully The Community Will Get Together & Fix This Atrocity!!
I'm sure the community is aware of the condition that the cemetery is in BUT they don't give a flying F...
people don't even care about the condition it's in because the graves sit in the sun all dam day and for years and years and YEARS! people just don't give a sh..
Unfortunately this is not the only cemetery in Louisiana like this… there are quite a few 😕 The one I visited, which was Sweet Olive .. the local university was trying to clean it up 😓😓
Who is going to front the millions of $$$???
DON’T WASTE MONEY ON THE DEAD. Spend that money on the still-living who are homeless or hungry or need healthcare
.
The cemetery where my family is buried does a half ass job of mowing the ground there. There are dead branches hanging on just about every tree in there. I worked for a family friend doing landscaping and he let me use the equipment trailer. I got 5-6 of my cousins and we went in there and cleaned up the whole cemetery. Took us all day, but it was well worth it .
I’ve cleaned the war graves for respect and everyone looks at the with tears in their eyes. I even put the poppy wreaths towards the graves
Those folks are proud to live like this. If they're not robbing the graves, emotying deceased bodies on the ground, they're dumping garbage in the cemetery.
I am not trying to sound callous here. Many people want to describe the problem like this and complain. But there is no entity that has responsibility for it at this point. Whatever organization formed this cemetery is clearly insolvent and defunct. The local government has no responsibility unless enough political pressure is exerted on them to do something - and then it is at taxpayer expense. The reality is the only thing that fixes this, or keeps many other cemeteries maintained is VOLUNTEERS. It is up to the family members of the buried, or other concerned people to organize and to the grunt work, and donate. I know this first hand only because I am a volunteer at a local cemetery where my son is buried.
Blame the drug smoking, crack taking, and meth injecting citizens of a community, our country ain't what it use to be, face the music, and no one cares unless it benefits them, God is out of the equation.
awww, good for you. thanks for the info, still so sad
There is no quick fix for this problem as it would take years to completely repair, restore and maintain all of this, the only answer is to disinter all the graves and cremate them as if left like this in another 10 or more years it will be worse, so cremation is the only answer.
@@markbeckham7298 Well-intended recommendation. But like with any of these cemetery issues, who pays for the considerable cost to do that, even if it could be accomplished?
I would love to be able volunteer to try and clean some of this mess up at 73 years old there's not be so much I'd even be able to do.
So sad. The stories these people could tell and the lives they lived. No one should be forgotten this way. I wish I lived closer to help.
weirdo
Most families of those people probably dont even exist anymore
@Giulio Cesare I'm sure many have living descendants and relatives that's probably forgotten about or do not care, or don't have the time or the money to do anything
Plenty of people walk the earth and have no one. To be it is sadder to not be noticed than it is to be forgotten.
Yeah some of these people might have actually met or seen Abraham Lincoln in real life
There has to be criminal or civil liability for this. In Wisconsin, where I'm from, there are laws about cemeteries and their upkeep & maintenance. Primarily the really old cemeteries like ones that are just random sections of land with 10-50 maybe graves and veterans as well.
When the cemetary owners die who would then be responsible? A problem in its its own right around the country because it is a business
I remember as a teenager we had major flooding in my hometown and a cemetery that was near my home had serious erosion and seven coffins went down the hill into peoples front yards. And many of the coffin contents had been displaced from their containers! People utterly petrified from what they saw.
I would have just cracked up. I found the coffin dance guys made me laugh when I first saw them, but it was hilarious when someone dropped it.
I live outside of New Orleans in one of the hardest hit areas of Hurricane Katrina. So many of our cemeteries ended up like this because of the wind and water damage. We had caskets from cemeteries floating miles down the road. They were old cemeteries just like this, so it could be the same type of situation, unfortunately. Even after all of these years, there is still so much disrepair especially to the cemeteries because people couldn’t afford to fix them up.
You are a brave man, a hero for bringing this to our attention.
Thank you so much.
This scale of neglect and abandonment didn't simply happen overnight. As Thomas (commenting below) has pointed out, there has to be the willingness for communities to accept responsibility and to take action. Further, a lot of cemetery maintenance is unpaid. Sad, but that's the reality of it.
Someone needs to Bite The Bullitt.
Politicians Need to take a "Pay Cut for Cemeteries' Restoration Grants"
Where are the families of these people.You should be reading out the names.The families are the ones that should feel ashamed.When was the last time they visited?
@@cherylnelson3554 Most of these are very old graves. Who knows who the families are, whether they’re still in the area, etc.
@@RK807 Even if family members aren't in the area they should make arrangements with someone to take care.
@@cherylnelson3554 Familes here in the US aren't always connected in the same way as others. Some long-term decedents simply no longer have any living relatives left, in the area or not. "Arrangments'?. What would those entail, exactly?. Also, some cemeteries and counties have pre-existing rules and regulations surrounding maintenanace, as to who carries it out, how, and when. If it were that simple, this situation wouldn't be one, in the first place.
Number one reason why I am having direct cremation.So disrespectful to those people.Thank You for showing us.
My family believes in cremation also. My friends father died. He wanted to be cremated but his other son said no so they took out a 10k loan and had a funeral and buried their father. Crazy... poor guy his final wishes were not granted. 50/ 100 yrs from today his gravesite will be forgotten also.
@@delovelydeb1 very sad.Wishes not granted is so disrespectful.Wonder to pays back the loan.
I view it beautiful, raw and honest. Indicative of a community worn and tired. No doubt hurricanes have brushed their strokes against weary landscapes.
The soil isn't an unpleasant place to be swallowed up and nourished in. It knows what to do. Carefully shedding and repurposing as elements commonly do.
Allow it to unapologetically tell you its story within folds of grass and leaves. Stories whispered against wavering elms and crooked branches. It sheds no tears for withered leaves.
So too, our bodies disapate over courses of time. Even names, rubbed away. Unashamed of exposure.
Allow it to be what it is. So much to draw from. X
In a way, I think its kinda beautiful to see nature taking over. I'd go out there and scatter wildflower seeds into the open coffins. It is sad they stopped taking care of the grounds but seeing flowers coming out of the graves would be a beautiful circle of life kind of thing.
If I see weeds and shit on a war grave, I clean it up because it’s not acceptable
I'm watching from Australia. This is heart breaking to say the least. My eyes filled with tears early in your vlog at the sight of the veterans destroyed tomb. Is this all storm damage or vandalism as well? I see nicely kept gardens in the surrounding homes; how hard would it be for each household to pop over with a fully fuelled weed whacker and do a section at a time?
Storm damage from continued hurricanes and flooding. It’s located on the gulf coast that’s why they’re on top of the ground. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s over 200 years old. No relative alive. It’s a swamp
I'm from the R. of S.A. Our cemeteries were always beautifully kept. Sadly, it's no longer the case. As with almost everything, our cemeteries now looks like this too. 😪
Fellow Aussie here! Heartbreaking scenes. Local government needs to rally the people to get in and clean it up. But it's America. And the south.
I would say from storm damage. Plus all the families are gone now and no one is responsible for it. Very sad. Most cemeteries in US are not built like they are in New Orleans. Because of the water table they were/are interned above ground
@@vic.smittie.5668 I have family in Dunnottar/Springs/Capetown etc, S.A is a beautiful country from what I've heard and seen.
I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Thank you so much for bringing this out.
What you don’t understand is a lot of these cemeteries In Louisiana were damaged by the hurricanes that came through. Hurricane Katrina alone demolished and unearthed many graves from cemeteries. Flood waters cause a lot of this damage and it’s not on the priority list to fix or repair. I can see the water damage on the stones.
,,,and Louisiana is just plain poor, 3rd world, and no different than most Caribbean nations, if these hurricanes happened in a place like Iowa they would still be kept tip top, pristine shape, grounds mowed, stones replaced or leveled and trash gone.
@@paradoxstudios6639 REALLY. hmmmmmm didn't know we're all POOR ....perhaps you had visited here before and seen our devastation for yourself
It's called neglect and vandalism. I live in baton rouge la and that's not normal water damage.
You cannot blame the tall grass and weeds on the hurricane this is years of overgrowth
@@clydewatkins7712 👍
It is in horrible condition. Very sad. The town should address this! Disrespectful, dangerous, and un sanitary.
I believe I'd be afraid of just dropping in on somebody unexpected. It looks like that once all of the money that was made from selling plots dried up the people that was in charge of this graveyard just threw in the towel ( so to speak), said the heck with it and this is truly heartbreaking to realize. Nobody whatsoever should be left to be forgotten and never be cared about ever again because it's just another form of depravity and no consideration at all. 😥
Actually, I like the fact that these grounds are slowly being reclaimed by nature. Face it, most of the deceased are long dead and have few (if any) living relatives or friends left in the area. And I can assure you that NO state or local agency has the funds (or inclination) to spend precious tax dollars on a long abandoned cemetery in one of the poorest states in the country. Indeed, this is Louisiana and as we saw with "Katrina," (along with countless other named and unnamed storms) their water table is high, the land at or below sea level and the disinterment of vaults, graves and of course their 'contents' are pretty much the norm rather than the exception. Putting up a safety fence and allowing the forces of nature to continue reclaiming this site, while also insuring that local historical societies document and record the names of all who are interred would certainly be a sensible and fairly inexpensive solution to this situation. Because one day in the not so distant future, enough storms will pass as to destroy these grounds forever, erasing for all time the names of those who were once loved and remembered in this little field of wildflowers and weeds. (p.s.....Please stop beating yourself up as you were EXTREMELY sensitive and respectful to the grounds and its occupants!) p.p.s.....Please consider showing various names and dates of the deceased, as I (and assuredly others) simply stopped watching after some 15 minutes of non-historical context.
Well I watched the video and wasn't at all put off by the non-historical information Im from aotearoa (NZ) and our cemeteries don't ever end up looking unkept regardless, it's the saddest thing to see .
@@fionacameron6215 "I'm from Aotearoa (NZ) and our cemeteries don't ever end up looking unkempt, (sic) regardless." Oh Dear. Are you QUITE certain? Maori sympathies aside, I'm afraid your confidence over the "unkempt" state of New Zealand cemeteries is NOT shared by your country people. From Kerikeri to Invercargill, some 20 percent (or more) of New Zealand's 2,188 cemeteries have decayed into a "neglected, abandoned mess," replete with sunken open graves, cracked, shattered, toppled and missing headstones/markers, vandalism on the daily and of course, massive vegetative overgrowth. Indeed, perhaps most interesting (aside from the man-high weeds that give these graveyards a sort of Van Gogh "field of grass" appearance) are the countless photo's of mature trees and overgrown shrubs using (rather intelligently I think) the contents of these abandoned graves as "potting soil." Truth be told 'Fiona,' rather than taking the word of this pesky American, get out and take a gander for yourself. I'm even happy to highlight a few of my favorites, including Taran Cemetery in Thames, (which has been rudely upchucking its neglected inhabitants into the Firth of Thames for years) Arawhata Cemetery near Jackson Bay, (squint really hard and you 'might just' make out a grave or two) and Ratanui Cemetery in Owaka, where a local farmer got so fed up with his cattle constantly falling into rotting graves that he paid for a "damned fence" to be erected around the "rotting eyesore" himself. One more thing: not all Kiwi's are good Kiwi's, as numerous New Zealand Veteran Associations can attest. Some not-so-nice "Aotearoan's" have been systematically vandalizing the markers of your hero's by prying off their copper name-plates and selling them for scrap. Jerks. I hope they fall in a sunken grave.
@@dawnehelene59 Wow! And I was just about to give the unofficial award for best kept cemeteries country to NZ. As you have illuminated, there is always two sides to every story. But kidding aside, this is very much a global problem, not just prevalent in a few countries.
P
Id rather spend tax dollars on this than spend it on what they spend it on.
*I truly advise you to wear big and tall boots,* to explore such places. Scorpions, snakes and spiders are a real danger.
Be rubber or leather boots, make sure you wear the tall ones.
Yeah get some big tall big fat black boots so you can kick people with
I realize this was a year ago, and it is sad, but the truth is that as old as these graves are, there's a good chance the bodies have completely decomposed by now. Remember, the body isn't the person but a shell.
Many of these graves may not have family's in the area to tend to them. It does look like some work has started, I hope it continues.
There was a hurricane mentioned, and that alone can cause a lot of damage. There may be no money to help with this sad situation.
I pray that your video will reach those who are called to restore these memorials. Your love and concerning heart may be the first step in restoring this beautiful old cemetery ✝️🙏💖🤗
Ya know we walk on graves every single day. The whole earth is a burial ground so in a sense we walk on someone’s grave every day
It's like an ad for crematoriums. Great example of why people should not be buried.
I learned about these types of pods you could be buried in with a tree of your choice and be buried naturally in the ground sustaining that tree. This is just me, but if I were to be buried I’d rather have my own private land with a lot reserved as my family gravesite and give my family the option to be buried in these pods to grow a grove of trees with beautiful plaques as a memorial to know where we’ve been buried rather than having be buried in a airtight box or be burned to ashes. It would be a plot beautifully designed to be a garden. My tree would be the shelter provided to my descendants as they come to visit me to protect them from the heat of the hot sun and a sturdy place to rest. I would want my resting place to be a place of beauty and peace.
It's called a green burial
Research it
Don't go for cremation, it's environmentally horrific
EXACTLY 💯!!!
Unfortunately that is so expensive.
I am a cemetery rehab specialist in Virginia. A lot of that damage may be vandalism, in addition movement in the A horizon (top 30 inches of dirt) will cause uneven cemetery stones and slabs. Also if the concrete grave cover (slabs) do not contain reinforcing steel , that could account for all the broken slabs. That cemetery would take a large commitment by the town to put it in order...
Thank you so much for your post. I have to agree with you regarding the possibility of grave robbing/vandalism. Where's the dignity? Where's the respect? I thank the gentleman who filmed this cemetery as this is a huge problem that is extremely disturbing & it needs to be addressed. Hopefully with this posted video help will be on the way to restore the dignity & respect of the people buried here.
Oh man! You should volunteer your expertise! I've never heard of a cemetery rehab specialist. I think I would just shake my head and say, "it's hopeless".
Just saw this is in Baton Rouge and wondering if it's Hurricane damage and if the Federal Government and FEMA could get involved- the town certainly doesn't have this restoration in their budget. However it should be. Just curious bc I know nothing about how money is allocated in these situations. This is sad.
Right sir. You're NOT being disrespectful AT ALL. The folks responsible for this horrific neglect are the ones who are DISRESPECTFUL. There's NO EXCUSE for a cemetery to remain in such deplorable condition. Not surprising at all that it's a cemetery in Louisiana.
You are definitely not being disrespectful. You are raising awareness and it's appreciated greatly!
You are so beautiful.... Supergirl... Wish all the best to you
This makes my heart sad. I come from a family that always cared for the graves of the family dead and the graves of others that were neglected. So sad because these were all people who had lives, loves, hopes and fears, dreams, humanity. Their graves should be respected. Thank you for showing us this vid. I had no idea such places existed. Surely something could be done. Many would donate.
Who…on earth…would ever let this happen??? This is also possibly a health risk. RIP to all who are buried here. This should be a criminal investigation!!
A non profit currently has it but they have no money and only have volunteer cleanups periodically. The cemetery is the oldest African American cemetery in Baton Rouge. It was shut down by the health department to new burials in 1925.
I'm sure the community could help out. This is the oldest black cemetery there? Cant get some funding from the state or govt. Cant disrespect the dead.RIP start go find me page 4 donations.
It’s all bones there is no risk.
@@greenspiraldragon It has recent burials 2016. So it isn't shut down.
@@nodnarb101 there may not be a heath risk but surely it's a liability for anyone falling into a grave that'has collapsed, and sunk into the ground? Rip to all who are buried there.
Imagine how much money their families paid for coffins, funeral, burial cost……. FOR WHAT?!?!
The ONLY ones who benefit from all of that are the businesses.
Believe it or not, General Sam Houston's grave in Huntsville TX once looked exactly like some of these! Mama and I visited it in the late 60s. An inscription said, 'The world will take care of Houston's fame.' Huh. For a while there it didn't even care about his grave. It's been taken care of since, thank goodness. Beautifully repaired and maintained. These poor people!
I want to start off by saying Thank You for your service. 🇺🇸 Louisiana has its own culture, which you are experiencing right now. The state sits below sea level, making it hard sometimes to get creative on how to bury the dead. This is a typical cemetery in La. I agree, it needs some TLC, however, most of these graves are possibly over 100 yrs old or older. Their families are probabaly long gone as well, leaving no visitors. "Someone" has taken the time to get that TLC going. Cleaning the cemetery takes time due to the extreme heat & humidity. It's a very labor-type job. In most places, from what I can tell from your vid is that a lawn mower could not be used. Only a gas weed wacker. Also, La floods A LOT due to hurricanes & tropical storms. La still hasn't been able to fully recover from Katrina. One thing that can be done is to make waves on getting the cemetery listed as a historical cemetery. Enlist ppl in the community. You would be amazed at how many ppl would be willing to help, if only a handful. And a VERY important tip: You are worried about snakes, as you should be, BUT you are also in the middle of "gator"ville. Don't lose an arm. Best wishes!
I would help, with all seriousness. The landscaping for me would be so therapeutic.
I'm glad someone commented with help, though! Keep us updated 💜.
I've seen stacked graves, they're "family internments" or "family tombs" so you can all be buried together and take up less space.
So sad and disrespectful to our deceased loved ones. They were someone’s family. It doesn’t take much to at least cut the grass. I hope law enforcement finds out who is responsible for this vandalism and they need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law!!!!
Exactly
Just because it's been vandalized, it doesn't mean that someone has done it. Someone has already said that it could have been done by flooding or hurricanes and we all know how bad the wind gets and what it can destroy. Someone also said that the owner could be deceased, so until u know what the facts are u need to STFU and keep ur opinions to urself.
@Karen Roy "Big Funeral" is a $20 Billion Dollar Industry... Cremation is the way to go.
Karen, it aint vandalism. Its just not being cleaned
This is NOT vandalism. This is from hurricanes, storms, and flooding from those hurricanes and storms.
This makes me look at cremation in a lot more favorable light. Why haven't they even attempted to at least rebury the coffins that are above ground? Where are relatives?
Lord help these poor people. Who would think that a cemetary would just leave things this way. It's truly an outrage!!!
Relatives are probably long gone, or moved away to distant pastures.
Have a simple grave. Not like these huge graves with massive boulders on to.
They? Who is they? If it bothers you then do something. Stop saying they and start saying I
Because the water table is high in Louisiana. Bury them under the ground and they could very well float back up to the surface with enough rain. A lot of them look to be above-ground burials anyways.
im thankful to you showing us and you didn't get hurt. to be nice wording so no one offended. this really ticks off my family and I ... tho we don't have family in it
I have never in my life felt so badly for the dead. Thank God they don’t know how their final resting place has been kept up it hasn’t. The city should be ASHAMED of themselves!!!
In England 🇬🇧 the local councils and volunteers and relatives keep up the tidy work in the cemeteries and there are only victorian graves that are risen in tombstones the coffins are mostly underground and secure this is so sad
Yes at least 6 foot deep, even deeper if it’s a plot for more than one person (relative or wife/husband/partner) x
In most parts of the US graves are buried more deeply. In Louisiana, the shallow underground water table makes it often necessary to bury the dead close to ground level. I believe in New Orleans, many are in tombs above ground.
Each grave has it’s own story and eventually we all have to die. I miss my late mom every second but then i find peace in knowing that we all will pass through this brief life.
Time and nature eventually take their toll. The souls of these people have moved on and their bodies have returned to the earth. It’s doubtful many loved ones are still living to visit or care about the condition of the graves and cemetery. I don’t find any part of this disrespectful or tragic but I’m not a proponent of funerals and traditional burial either.
How can cruel people do this
IT'S THE DEVILS WORK!!!! 😢
I'm inclined to agree with u, although I must wonder at the original management allowing the stacking of thin but still heavy concrete structures upon each other with no reinforcement between each one & allowing some enground enternments to be barely below the earths surface as well as placing each site so very close together. The mind just boggles in the search for reason.
In todays society, people have to pay for their burial plot. It's not Free. The plot cost includes perpetual care. So clearly these cemetary owners have taken the $$$ and used/embezzled it. SHAMEFUL
some of em have been opened i suspect looking for Jewellery
This is why I am being cremated as much as I love cemeteries they sometimes end up like this and in this area flooding may be damaged due to flooding. Your sinking down in the ground may be the reason why the place is overgrown with weeds it is obviously not safe to be mowing and weed whacking in this place. It is really in a sad state what a shame.
Ty for raising awareness
Here's my 2 cents: hand-wringing won't help the situation. Don't know about this community, but it may be that the community is struggling to care for the living, so the dead take a back seat. The answer may be a multi-faceted volunteer project. Firstly, identify the historical facts about the cemetery, ie. which plantations used it as their burying ground, which churches buried their congregants there, compile lists of those buried there either from newspaper obits (local newspapers may be online to research) or archived vital records. Next, identify the names of veterans that are buried there and fraternal organization members as there may be a grant or funds available from veterans' organizations or fraternal organizations for upgrading the condition of the cemetery. Are there any trade schools within 200 miles of this cemetery that are teaching masonry and concrete work? If so, maybe they could be persuaded to bring their students in for some hands-on experience reconstructing some of the brick barriers and structures. What is the name of this cemetery? Does it appear on the website Find-a-Grave? One of the best ways to drum up support for this type of project is to make the public aware of it, particularly those that may have a loved one buried there. I'm too old to offer physical labor, but would be willing and able to help with gathering data and compiling lists of those buried there from records if I can find access to same. Are there sexton's records for this cemetery? Has anyone checked with the local library or county historical society?
A temporary grid and sections could be set up there, and a team of volunteers could do a 2 or 3 day walk through recording any names and dates from the markers. If this cemetery isn't already on Find a Grave someone (I can do it) can post information on markers and memorials as they are located. Another team of people with gas or battery powered weedwackers could tidy the place up a bit, and maybe a dumpster could be rented to haul away some of the debris like the appalling casket just laying there.
Right now government agencies and historical societies are mulling over raising up and restoring a sunken slave ship that was recently discovered. If that can be done, certainly something can be done about this cemetery with a little determination and brain storming.
You are one smart cookie ! 🍪
Well said Mom. And thank you for saying it too. "Hand wringing" is definitely a term I need to add to my vocabulary. Have you ever participated in an effort like the one you are describing?
I love your pragmatism, and willingness to help, as well. I think alot of us could benefit from exposure to that kind of thinking.
DON’T WASTE MONEY ON THE DEAD. Spend that money on the still-living who are homeless or hungry or need healthcare
.
IN FRANCE the dead were exhumed & buried in the Paris mines (catacombs)
This is poverty at its worst.
So sad to see this cemetery in such a dreadful state, thankyou for sharing this ❤️
This is absolutely horrible. Where the hell is the community and civic leaders. Where are my patriots and my male leaders? I wished I lived in that community. Shameful we treat our dead like this. God help us all.
it is run by Democrats what did you expect?
Fun fact: In Switzerland, after 25 years, people are evicted from their gravesites and the sites are reused.
How exactly do you "evict" a dead person? What exactly do they do with the remains?
I love old cemeteries. This was a heartwrenching experience! I was anxious for you just watching you walk through this cemetery. It is very difficult to watch knowing there have been much flooding and hurricanes. Thank you for your time, effort and energy on this video AND! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!!
Someone should be held accountable for that disaster! That is a horrible situation.
There are other states with privately owned cemeteries in similar shape....Rhode Island comes to mind. Another vlogger did a vid on it. Garbage piled on veterans's graves, public mausoleum building condemned with caskets and ashes inside. Solution is volunteers working for free.
I know what mausoleum you’re taking about. I believe it’s in Providence. It was privately owned and the owners died
But the condition now is horrendous! I can’t believe a family member who leave a deceased family member there
Various groups have tried to get the city to do something,and nothing
Please make copies of this video and send them to your local and state officials. Also to your local and perhaps national news stations. This is deplorable! This needs to be addressed immediately. Besides the disrespect, this could be a health issue. God bless you for making this public.
It is not the local and state responsibility. It is privately owned, or was, and is in the private sector responsibility.
@@rogercarroll2551 If it is privately owned, then a court order should be issued to the owners to clean it up and bring it up to code. This is just outrageous and no excuse is acceptable for allowing this to stay in its present condition.
@@rogercarroll2551 and your point...States regularly confiscate land for various reasons, most of the hem for profit/taxation reasons...the twin towers were privately owned...all across this nation banks own abandoned buildings and homes that many people become injured in etc...if you did your homework before responding you would know there already is written laws that the US government has ultimate jurisdiction and responsibility even over State responsibilities...but money is found to give to foreign nations and private residential fences around the homes of politicians but never the money for graves like the veterans in this graveyard or citizens who paid taxes all their lives...go ahead and pay to own a business and not pay your taxes and watch how fast they spend money to shut you down...open some law books and use your mind before showing the public how ignorant you presently are.
@@planetaryjanet You would think so. But most of the original entities that owned or operated these cemeteries are insolvent, if they exist any longer at all. Basically, in many cases, there is no money to go after.
Yeah, they should really start a prison program. And have the inmates clean that whole place up. Give them plenty to do that would be awesome
Hummmmmmm,
This didn't happen overnight. Attend a city meeting as new business to raise awareness and begin solicitation for repair funds from city, county, and your State. You will be surprised how many people want to help but don't know how. We have a Gravestone restoration business and every day of work is great satisfaction.
Also those above ground cement graves were very common dating back to the 1800,s and these cemeteries were at one point in time family property and land but now in modern day time after centuries and being passed down ppl parish and the family land eventually becomes abandoned and the city takes over and malls go up, highway's, buildings, subdivisions and modern times take over thus leaving these historical family cemeteries just abandoned.i grew up in the south so these types of cemeteries were common to run across in the 80s&90s right before modern times were hitting and more and more of those single family homes and subdivisions started popping up everywhere.. But in 1980 my stepfather took us to his family cemetery owned by his family for generations on the family farm land property and it was even astonishing seeing those old above ground cement graves and actually looking at graves dating back to pre war times and some dating back as early as 1840 but over the years and generations and family dying wills and property being passed down over time the city got those properties and this is the final result, sadly malls, highrise buildings, and subdivisions popped up everywhere and these just sit abandoned.
I really appreciate you for exposing this.
This cemetery is probably already city owned and therefore the state of Louisiana is ultimately responsible to maintain and protect the graves from vandalism. A class action suit needs to be filled by an attorney on behalf of the families of the people buried there. The neglect is horrific and there is no excuse to allow this cemetery to be left in this deplorable condition.
I believe the officials owners are still the First African Benevolent Society and the Sons & Daughters of Mt Pleasant Baptist Society. The two fraternal orders owned the property jointly till about 1975, then separated the property with each taking a designated section. Now they're organized as a non-profit cemetery corporation.
This is a damn shame how they've kept the cemetery so disrespectful so sad the disrespect for the deceased stuff like this just pisses me off to the Core R.I.P to everyone in there you got families members that are there broken caskets not caring for anything this is just so depressing
Thank you for your work. This video was interesting and I love history so it’s very appreciated. I wish you had given us the year of birth and death of the people buried. This graveyard is apparently in this shape due to the graves being in an area which is below sea level and close to the Mississippi River. The comfort for the families and the people who have been disturbed by watching this is that this is only their bodies. Their souls have left this earth. Visit the grave yard in New Orleans!
Seeing so many cemeteries abandoned, and elsewhere, graves being recycled, is why I decided not to get buried.
There's only one way to look at this: the needs of the living take precedence over the *lack* of needs of the dead, especially in our poorer states. Sorry to bring this harsh truth to light. Even the prisoner solution would come with a substantial price tag; all that "free" labor must be transported, fed, and supervised.
My grandparents lived in Pocahontas all of their life. I visited them often. Went there in the 60s, 70, and 80s, and 90s. That cemetery has always looked like that for as long as I can remember. Used to explore it myself. It's so sad it's still like that.
Dude... it's up to the ancestors (family) to upkeep their loved ones graves. There are NO ancestors left alive. Besides, their loved ones are NOT THERE. Their empty vessels have long ago disintegrated. The Spirit says to take the flowers home and enjoy them.
I know...how many centuries can we realistically be expected keep up a grave for every dead person that ever lived here and wasn't cremated?
@@myadorablefosters Big Funeral is a $20 Billion dollar industry. While cremation is less expensive and easier on all levels...
There are two places on our earth, that deserve to be kept in pristine condition, without any exemptions, and they are churches, irrespective of religion, and cemeteries. All local governments across the globe should hang their heads in shame, to allow any cemetery to fall into disrepair. This video has saddened me. Your last resting place should be one of respect and well kept. I’m beyond words watching this video. Those poor deceased people deserve better. 👎🙏🏼
Amen
Nothing is sacred anymore..children are shot at the drop of a hat these days.
erm churches? Not to the many who don't believe in your delusion. I could care less what happens to them. Just another building made by man to rake in money.
Everyone always puts churches and all of its congregates in this high rank of morale, where are all them church folk in that area now? I’m sure many of them are driving by on that road there fully aware of the state of that cemetery.
They have more money than god, let them handle it
Tragic, heartbreaking.😢
Atrocious conditions this should be on their local news its disgraceful and dangerous. The laws regarding burial in this state must be nonexistent. I live in Pennsylvania our vets and lots of volunteers pitch in to tend to cemeteries before they fall into this kind of disrepair. This needs serious attention
I knew as soon as I saw this Cemetery , that you were in Louisiana. Where the ground water level is too high, they bury the bodies above ground.
And when the body has decade, they remove the bones, or push them to the side, and then bury another body in the same crypt. This area also is prone to flooding.
So it is very difficult to maintain. The area was a French Colonie.
So their are some very different practices than in the rest of the United States. It actually doesn't look as bad as some others I have seen. But Louisiana is not really known for a place to visit Cemeterys.
For most people, 75 years after your death, not a single living person knows you existed. I can go three generations back to Italian immigrants, but I have no information about family in the old country.
Blows my mind. You wouldn't see this where I live (Australia) as cemetaries are so heavily regulated. My mum (mom) is intered at a family plot at a maori cemetary in New Zealand, I give some money each year to help maintain it, but it's piece of mind knowing that mum is being looked after. My Dad on the other had is buried in a really crappy cemetary in Italy (where he was born and raised and lived out the last 4 years of his life, died 2002), I've only visited it once and honestly he may as well be in an unmarked grave. To be fair, part of that was due to Dad alienating us (my 3 half brothers, my sister and me), when he died I was 27 and still angry with him for being a shitty Dad (hadn't seen or spoken to him since 1996), so when my older brother phoned me telling me he died and our italian relatives were wanting money to bury him, I literally said "Tell them to Go f**k themselves", my brother replied with "yeah I thought you'd say that, you gotta let it go brother". Years later I found out that Mum (who he divorced in 1987, second of 4 wives) actually gave most of the money bury him, I asked her why and she said "Antonio, your Dad had many faults, but he still deserved to be buried with respect. It's not our place to judge him what he did.". Mum always had a way with words and way of making me self reflect, she been gone 9 years, miss her terribly. I forgave my Dad a long time ago, but watching your video has made me want to go and visit my Dad's grave and see if I can do something to improve it. Thank you for sharing this.
Who's place is it to judge the way he literally lived his life then? An entity that was unaffected by his.life? I don't think you should forgive him because it's not your job to judge, but you should forgive to get that resentment out of your spirit.
@@shannond1511 what business is it of yours to make that assessment about me and the relationship I had with my father? My forgiveness of him and what he did to me was not something I came to easily. I could go into more detail about how I came to that point, but honestly I dont want to get into it with someone like you.
@mixmmick Your mum (I'm assuming is Maori?) clearly looked at death in the same beautiful way that all Maori people traditionally did.
Death, as is life, is such a sacred thing to our people. The time spent at the marae after the passing of a loved one, all sharing the same floor, sleeping next to the dead for several days leading up to the tangi (funeral) and sharing stories with each other but speaking with the dead directly as we hug them in their casket and forgiving them for past mistakes or any differences you may have had with them or whatever (for example)
So her paying for the burial of your estranged father ,I imagine, was out of respect for the fact that, regardless of whether or not he was a bad man or bad father, he was still your father.
That's beautiful bro. Your mum sounds like she was an amazing wāhine (woman)
@Nicks Hobbies & Customs thanks mate, yes Mum was Maori though lived most of her life here in Australia (moved here at 17 with 3 siblings and her stepdad who was scottish but raised in NZ). She was a wonderful lady, miss her everyday, was 10 years back in March. One of big regrets is not learning more about my heritage while she was alive, I've learned bits and pieces over the years from various people (my brother in law mostly, he's maori), but not much.
The whole family is heading to NZ in June for my sisters 50th (my sisters lived in NZ since 1993, I lived there briefly when she first moved there). Mum is buried in Nelson but my sis is in Rotorua so we're all making the trek down. My nephew (my sisters eldest) lives in Auckland and he asked if I'd come up and visit, he lived in Australia with me for a few years while doing his electrical apprenticeship (my older brother had an electrical business so took him on), I'm basically a second father to him, so the wife and I are staying an extra week while kids head back home.
That's awesome man. Definitely do look into amd spend time learning about your Maori heritage. I think you'll really appreciate it.
All the best 🙏
Why does it bother people so much that our bodies decay? Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Everything decays. I'd much rather see a cemetery reclaimed by nature that a stone field. Besides with respect to Sustainability, long live aquamation and body composting and natural burials. Use your remains to protect nature and help it thrive. Moreover consider funding. If you had x million dollars, would you fix a cemetery or use it for healthcare? Or education? Insert other public service for the living. Even as s veteran, would you prefer a pristine grave, and then I'd recommend a military grave yard, Or would you prefer the money to work for veterans, for programmes for them and their families, health, re-integration etc.
Life is fleeting. But death is also soon forgotten. One way or another, we will all return to the dust.
Speechless 😶 Wish they can use tax money to pay for new graves in all cemeteries like this and stop spending money on bs! Makes me mad 😡 Appreciate you for sharing this!
This is disgusting! I am speechless! If somebody came around tearing up me or my families gravesite, I would be enraged but not able to do anything, like anybody else. RIP and God Bless all. This is what the indigenous people must feel about how we deface all their burial mounds
This is Louisiana. These cemeteries are subject to damage from hurricanes and floods.
@@Gentlebreeze397 I am not from that area, but I have heard of flooding can make some coffins float up. Just never like this extent. It's still sad be and angers me everybody seems to know what might be the reason, but nobody does anything. I live in Missouri, so what I saw and heard I apologize if I offended anyone with my ignorance. God Bless everyone.🕊️
This is actually a reminder of how eventually everyone who dies is forgotten. It shows the reality of what it means to keep the remains of those who have passed. Families become more and more distant, and its not long before the only family alive has never met those who passed. Primarily I fault the city management for allowing people to use a cemetery that is so completely overcrowded that they are stacking them on top of each other. Even the city has forgotten what it means to manage. It looks like this is in hurricane territory with the flooding that is common with hurricanes and tornados. Plus everything is so old its already weather worn. I couldn't read hardly any of the markers.
This is very disturbing. If the owners died, the city should take it over and take care of it. I hate to see things like this happen to gravesites. So heartbreaking. No excuse for this to happen.
The land should cleared, the remains cremated, and the property be redeveloped into a park with memorial
@@JK-hd2zb Something should be done. anything would be better than this. So heartbreaking, sad.
It seems totally abandoned and forgotten...thank you for being respectful...very kind of you
Thank you
Hell yea 🎯🎯🎯🎯
I hope the local community raises their voice to begin repairs to these 100 year-old graveside. What was once a somber place holds a century of historical remains ofenslaved and ancestors who deserve respect and care. This destruction can be reversed and put right. Shame on the city for its neglect !
Yes this cemetery has been flooded really bad, that's why they are lifted up, caskets float to the top, get uneven and start to crack over time.
Disrespectful is letting it get that bad. People should be happy you are helping bring attention to this issue.
City, county and state should be responsible.
Hahaha..not when you vote democrats
A 100 years from now the nicest cemeteries in America will probably be like this as well , I believe that we can all be remembered in the Internet cloud now and cemeteries should start being phased out . it's a waste of beautiful land And it's not sustainable permanently. I love going to cemeteries and reading people's names and the dates and admiring the beauty of the landscaping but I also know they are not sustainable and they take up a lot of space. Eventually we will all be forgotten even Cleopatra.
It's not going to take 100 years. Just saying. Look at others that are abandoned now. Or who stars were in the 1960s.
I understand your reverence for the dead but I'm guessing the state of this place has more to do with the fact that it's located in a floodplain than anything disrespectful. This is just what happens when we insist on burying every last person that dies instead of using alternatives like cremation. There isn't enough room and eventually everyone connected to us will also pass away leaving nobody to maintain our graves; its not as disrespectful as you're making it out to be
And the descendants may be scattered, long gone. The current generation may know next-to-nothing (if that) about their ancestors from whom they are separated by multiple generations.
depends on our perspective. others might think differently than you. Ever think of that?
In the uk the criminals has to do community service and they are sent to cemeteries to clean up and cut the grass as well as community projects
I Feel so grateful that my Hubby is in a National (military) Cemetery, And I will be able to be in it withhim when I die. This will never happen to us.
Funny that you care. You shouldn't.