A Miami County judge has transferred ownership of a historic African American cemetery to a nonprofit focused on preserving and honoring the legacy of the Randolph Freedpeople.
The cemetery is now under the care of Land of the Freed was founded by a descendent of the Randolph Freedpeople, Paisha Thomas.
Now, that organization is planning a to restore and preserve the land and its artifacts to honor those buried there.
History of the land
Nearly 400 formerly enslaved people migrated to 3,200 acres of land that had been purchased for them in Mercer County in 1846. The land was part of a promise made by a plantation owner, John Randolph.
"He was struggling with how he was going to address his guilt for owning human beings and not have to lose his wealth," Thomas said. "So he decided to put in his will that when he died, he would free everyone. So that turned out to be about 400 people."
But when those 400 people arrived, German and French squatters refused to let them settle on their newly promised land.
"They politicized this fight and they utilized the Ohio Black codes and Ohio Black laws that had been put in place in the early 1800s to politically threaten any politicians who were running that they would not vote for them if they forced them to uphold John Randolph of Roanoke's will and they won," Thomas said. "To this day, their descendants are enjoying this beautiful farmland that belonged to my ancestors."
So, the Freedpeople established communities in Miami and Shelby Counties and they eventually set up a cemetery in Springcreek Township.
A plan for restoration
Land of the Freed currently has four board members and three cemetery committee members working to restore the historic cemetery in Springcreek Township.
Thomas said part of that work involves addressing the racial wealth gap, which she said is rooted in historic land theft.
"The racial wealth gap is very broad and it has a lot to do with land, access to land, real estate," she said. "And so I really hope that we can get back into that conversation."
While the cemetery was overseen by Helen Gilmore and the Rossville-Springcreek Historical Society, it was left unattended after her death.
"So it fell into disrepair. The commissioner, the Springcreek Township kept the grass cut and everything, but it's time to restore some dignity and sacredness," she said.
The nonprofit hired a Black landscape architecture company, Design Jones, to formulate the master plan for this restoration.
"So now we'll be able to raise funds and hire contractors to start the work," Thomas said.
She said they hope to use the restored space for educational purposes, as well as honoring those buried at the site.
That work is being financially supported by a $75,000 grant from Miami County Commissioners.
"They felt like it was as important as we feel it is to restore the cemetery where many of those people who were born enslaved and died free are buried now," Thomas said.
While these funds will help get the project off the ground, the entire plan will cost upwards of $2 million dollars. Thomas said they plan to focus on grave location and restoration, sitting area and memorial wall, parking and more.
"We have to collaborate with whoever owns the wooded area that's right next to the cemetery because there are headstones in there, and we need to access those so that we can figure out how to preserve them," Thomas said. "We also have a visitor center that's going to go in one of the adjacent parcels."
