Home Care In Cedar Grove, NC

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Among the trees and autumn leaves lies some of Charlotte’s richest history.

What You Need To Know

“It looks like it sunk, which is really unfortunate,” said Kevin Donaldson. “It needs to be repaired.”

It’s hard to believe, but a few weeks ago Donaldson was standing inside the Cedar Grove Cemetery.

The cemetery sits right across the street from University Park Elementary school, and buried there are influential African Americans from Charlotte, dating all the way back to the late 1800s.

“I see other cemeteries in the city that are very well kept,” he said. "I would love to see this one get back to that.” “I see other cemeteries in the city that are very well kept,” he said. "I would love to see this one get back to that.”

Donaldson is a UNC Charlotte graduate student studying public history.

“I’ve always been interested in history though … big, big fan,” he said.” Lot of history in South Carolina and Georgia in my family so a lot of things to keep up with there.”

Growing up in Charleston, he’s always seen the importance of cemeteries. So once he learned about Cedar Grove and the state it was in, he knew he had to do something.

“It was a shame to see neglect, really, and I know that a lot of families come out here and maintain their graves, but it takes a village really to get these places back to where they once were,” said Donaldson.

Donaldson learned about this cemetery through local historian and Professor Willie Griffin.

Griffin just recently found out about Cedar Grove and is hoping to share some of the history he knows to help Donaldson with this project.

“Looking at prominent headstones, you realize this was an important person, and so if you want to begin researching, you have to begin there,” said Griffin. “Who were the people in the community who were the movers and shakers.”

Along with Griffin, Donaldson is working with County Commissioner At-Large Pat Cotham to find descendants and soon begin the work of restoring this cemetery.

He knows it will be a lot of work, but it’s important work, not just for our community, but also for the many African Americans who lay at rest there.

“This is just as important as a museum,” said Donaldson. "It’s just as important as we revere in our society, and it really deserves to be kept up.”

Donaldson is hoping to talk to those who have loved ones buried in this cemetery.

If you are interested in reaching out, you can contact Donaldson here.

NEW BERN, Craven County — Two historical plaques are being placed in city cemeteries honoring at least a dozen African Americans who were disinterred from Cedar Grove Cemetery during the early 1900s.

In 2014, an article appeared in the New Bern Sun Journal newspaper recounting the story of several African Americans whose graves and remains were removed from Cedar Grove Cemetery in 1914 and re-interred in Greenwood Cemetery in order to make room for more whites. The article explained one of many laws that grew out of the Jim Crow era that banned African Americans from being buried at Cedar Grove.

The disinterred remains were taken to Greenwood Cemetery and buried in a mass grave near the entrance.

After the article appeared in the newspaper, a group of citizens led by Reverend Robert Johnson and Ben Watford approached the city with their concerns.

The City contacted Dr. Charles Ewen, Director of the Department of Anthropology at East Carolina University, and last March Dr. Ewen and a group of students from ECU’s Bioarchaeology Laboratory excavated the mass grave at Greenwood. They found only a few fractured bones and the remains were significantly commingled. Ben Watford and Reverend Johnson recommended the remains stay put at Greenwood.

Over several months, the City and the concerned citizens' group discussed ways to honor, restore respect, and bring dignity to these people which led to Saturday's planned placement of two historical plaques, to be installed near the entrances to both cemeteries.

“I would like to thank the City of New Bern and the Parks & Recreation Department for their assistance in making this project successful,” said Ben Watford. “The staff have shown such empathy for this situation and we are grateful for their help to bring this day forward.”

The ceremony will begin at 1:00 p.m. at St. Peter’s AME Zion Church on Queen Street, and then temporary plaques will be placed at each cemetery site.

“This is the right thing to do to bring closure to a devastating situation,” said Reverend Robert Johnson. “We can finally put this matter and these citizens to rest. Through this process, we become better citizens who truly care about people. We can help restore healing for those who’ve been hurt by this situation. I am so happy to be a part of this team. We are making history for New Bern and beyond.”

The final plaques are expected to be delivered and installed in mid-March.

“It is difficult to find words when a tragedy such as this occurs,” said Mayor Dana Outlaw. “What happened here out of indifference is now a place where all people can come together to mourn these New Bernians. It was our duty, as a City and a community, to make it right.”

All are welcome to attend Saturday’s events.

CHARLOTTE — Restoring dignity in rest, that’s the mission of a group of volunteers working to restore a historically Black cemetery in northwest Charlotte.

Sixty-seven acres of land were purchased for Cedar Grove Cemetery around 1880, but today only 1.8 acres remain. The cemetery is in complete disrepair.

The site has been abandoned since its last known owner, clergyman John S. Davidson, died in 1972.

Efforts to clean up the now-abandoned site uncovered numerous graves that were covered or had broken headstones -- including those of service members.

“This area was so overgrown over the last 50 years that most people didn’t realize there was a cemetery there right here,” said Aaron Harper, vice president at Veterans Bridge Home.

“Our goal here as fellow veterans is to make sure that these veterans and their families are cared for,” Harper said. “It’s sad that a veteran ... their last, final resting place is being treated like that.”

ALSO READ: Families sue after cemetery loses track of loved one’s bodies

Arthur Griffin serves on Mecklenburg County’s board of commissioners. He’s also a Vietnam War veteran who has spent time educating people about the Cedar Grove site and leading efforts to see it restored.

“It’s a shame that we were not thoughtful enough to maintain a peaceful and honorable and decent resting place for those who have done so much for us as a community,” he said.

Griffin said for African American servicemembers, the state of their gravesites carries an additional weight.

“African-American veterans that served in not only the Civil War, but World War I, had two wars to fight, basically -- a war in terms of civil rights, but also an actual war,” he said.

After weeks of cleanup efforts, volunteers welcomed the public and families of those buried on the site to a special Memorial Day service on Monday.

It was the first time some families were able to visit loved ones in person.

“We had to actually pave a pathway ourselves to actually get to him,” Brittany McKnabb told Channel 9′s Madison Carter.

Her great-grandfather Thomas McKnabb Sr. served in the Navy and is buried at Cedar Grove.

ALSO READ: Local mother has difficulty locating daughter’s grave at unkept cemetery

“He passed before I was even born. So this is the closest that I ever got to him,” she said. “I just wanted to come out here and just meet him myself.”

The McKnabb family said it’s grateful for the efforts to restore this site, not just for their loved one, but for all those who call this their final resting place.

“I’m relieved that something is finally getting done. At the same time, I’m still saddened because who’s to say that there aren’t others out here, that it hasn’t been discovered yet?” McKnabb said.

While Cedar Grove Cemetery is on record, there is no record of who owns or is responsible for maintaining the property.

Volunteers are working to secure grants for ground-penetrating radar, so they can find and mark the sites of those who were laid to rest in the cemetery.

For more information and ways to volunteer, visit this link.

Winston-Salem, N.C.—Cedar Grove Capital and ROSS Management Services, the property management arm of ROSS Cos., have teamed up to acquire Chesterfield Apartments, a community in the West Winston-Salem submarket. ROSS will serve as the management partner for the property, which includes 294 units across nine buildings.

The team will also upgrade select apartments in order to improve the community quality. Chesterfield Apartments was last updated in 2010, and the team wants to make sure the community is on par with the rising demand for quality housing in Winston-Salem.

“Cedar Gove Capital plans to make critical repairs to interior and exterior aspects of the community. Among the exterior improvements planned include mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. Interior upgrades will include upgraded appliance packages, refreshed painting and flooring and bathroom improvements,” Aaron Gorin, managing partner at Cedar Grove Capital, told MHN.

The buildings offer two- and three-bedroom homes ranging in size from 882 to 1,097 square feet. Amenities include a swimming pool and playground.

ROSS, who Gorin said has been a “trusted partner of Cedar Grove Capital for all of its Mid-Atlantic acquisitions and improvements,” will also manage the community’s online presence and boost its advertising, as well as improve onsite operations with technology-enabled services like online and mobile rent payment, service requests and account management.

“The introduction of our suite of technologically advanced services will be a natural fit for the city, which is becoming one of the mid-Atlantic region’s meccas for technological growth,” said Dave Miskovich, COO of ROSS Cos. “Even public schools in the area have received acclaim for how they’re incorporating technology into the classroom. Residents in a tech-friendly city like Winston-Salem will expect the same from their apartment communities, and we’re going to make that a reality at Chesterfield Apartments.”

Another attractive feature of Chesterfield Apartments is its proximity to major employment opportunities and its location as a crossroads between Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, Gorin said.

“There is no doubt that this is one of the most convenient areas of Winston-Salem to live in with nearly 40,000 jobs within a 3-mile radius and plenty of entertainment destinations nearby,”Gorin said. “Winston-Salem has morphed into a thriving and resilient economy with strong economic drivers and a diverse employer base over the past two decades. We believe Chesterfield Apartments represents a tremendous opportunity for us to offer quality housing to meet the sustainable demand coming from an ever-growing professional population.”

Winston-Salem’s employer base is spread over several professional office parks that house medical, legal and accounting firms, which will likely draw working professionals to Chesterfield Apartments. Major employers include the Forsyth Medical Center, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, BE Aerospace, BB&T Bank and Blue Rhino.

In addition to employment opportunities, residents will also be close to shopping and dining spots, including Hanes Mall, and entertainment venues. Winston-Salem is also known as North Carolina’s City of Arts, having the country’s first Art Council, the North Carolina School of Arts and the National Black Theatre Festival, among other galleries and museums.

Photo courtesy of Cedar Grove Capital

Orange County announced Thursday the last three of eight wolfdog hybrids have left the animal shelter after being housed there since last summer.

The three wolfdogs left late Wednesday, heading to an undisclosed nonprofit group that specializes in humane placement of wolves and other at-risk animals, Animal Services spokesperson Tenille Fox said in an email. The county had previously said it might have to euthanize any of the wolfdogs it could not place.

“OCAS would like to thank the staff at the shelter for their amazing, daily care of these animals,” Fox wrote. “Huge thanks also go out to all of the wonderful organizations that stepped up to provide proper placement.

Three of the canines, which are illegal to own in Orange County, moved Friday to a sanctuary in Wisconsin called Heroes and Hybrids.

Two others who were littermates were transferred to Wolfwood Refuge in Colorado last month.

“This has been a long journey and we are elated to find appropriate placement for these animals,” Animal Services Director Sandra Strong said in a news release Monday.

The local shelter has reached out to groups across the county to take the wolfdogs. Most could not take them because they were full or not able to handle them. The hybrids can’t be safely walked or handled for care, according to Animal Services, which had said it might have to euthanize them if it could not find permanent placements for them.

“These types of transfers take an enormous amount of effort from everyone involved,” Strong said in the news release. “We are so grateful to these amazing organizations that were able to give these wolfdogs the type of safe environment and enrichment they require.”

Eight wolfdogs were captured and brought to the shelter in July and August of 2021, after 12 animals got loose in the Cedar Grove community in northern Orange County. The county has not released the name of their owner.

In August a veterinarian board certified in zoo medicine confirmed that the animals’ phenotype and behavior was consistent with wolfdog cross breeding. The board agreed with the county’s placement plan for them, according to the news release.

A ninth animal brought to the shelter turned out to be a German shepherd and was able to be adopted through the shelter’s regular adoption program, Fox.

One wolfdog they had not been able to capture, a female, died after being hit by a car in November.

“This was a wolfdog frequently spotted and our team had been working on catching her for a while, so this was really a sad outcome for her,” Fox said by email.

The two wolfdogs that remained loose have not been seen and are presumed to have left the county, The News & Observer reported previously.

Wolfodgs are also in the news in Wake County, where Raleigh is considering rules for them and other wild and exotic animals.

The Raleigh City Council recently decided to take more time to study its options, which include banning them, requiring owners to register them and doing nothing.

The proposed measures come after a zebra cobra, a species of venomous snake, escaped and panicked a northwest Raleigh neighborhood last year.

And this week Wake County Animal Control reunited a pet coatimundi, a relative of the raccoon, with its owners after it escaped and was found off New Bern Avenue in Raleigh.

Orange County Animal Services is looking for possible wolf German shepherd hybrids loose in Cedar Grove, N.C. The dogs do not appear to have attacked people, animals or livestock, but officials said they can be aggressive if confronted. By ABC11

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This story was originally published February 14, 2022, 1:11 PM.