Cemetery Class St. John

A cemetery maintenance class will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 25, at the historic St.

John Baptist Church Cemetery, 67 St. John Road, in Fletcher. The class is hosted by the Henderson

County Cemetery Advisory Committee. Training will focus on the cleaning and repair of gravestones.

Warren Scott and Tom Fugate, gravestone conservators, will teach the proper and careful methods to

preserve and repair gravestones.

The cemetery contains graves of former slaves, including Sambo Collington (1848-1930), a veteran of

the 135 th U.S. Colored Infantry, Co. D.

This site was the location of one of the earliest black churches in the county formed after the Civil War.

Old Salem Baptist Church, now Fletcher First Baptist Church, aided newly freed slaves in organizing the

church by 1873. The worshippers met under brush arbors and in tents until 1922, when the first building

was constructed.

The grave site of William “Bowser” Collington (1885-1933), who died in the limestone quarry tragedy of

1933, is also located within the cemetery. Surnames of families with graves in the cemetery include

Blake, Hawkins, Summey, Darity, Lynch, Pea, Logan, Collington, Fletcher, Collins, Copney, Lance,

Williams, Pinner, McDaniel, Wilson, Underwood, Prince and more.

The work is wet and dirty. Please dress accordingly

Registration is requested as class size is limited. To register or for more information, contact Toby

Linville at 694-6627 or tlinville@hendersoncountync.gov