The city is demolishing a historically black cemetery in Wilson and building in its place, "Where are the headstones?
Lisa Henderson continues to struggle to find out what happened to hundreds of graves in Vic Cemetery.
It is a historically black cemetery that was established in 1913. By the 1950s, records show that the Wilson County Health Department condemned the land as unsuitable for human burials.
City officials tried to clear and maintain the land, but somehow the grave markers were removed in the process.
Henderson walked the area with ABC11 showing what appears to be a storage cover with grass growing on top of it.
"Let me show you the last remaining physical evidence of a grave in this cemetery," she said.
Davis: "I can't help but notice how uneven the ground is."
Henderson: "That's because you're walking on graves."
She discovered documents that tell the history of the land. ABC11 tried to contact Wilson's current interim mayor, James Johnson, because he was a councilman when the decision was made to clear the cemetery. Instead of an interview, Johnson sent documents.
Wilson city officials allowed the cemetery to fall into disrepair with little or no maintenance for 20 years. In 1994, the city council voted to clear debris, remove grave markers and level the surface for $200,000.
The decision was made to erect a central monument rather than return the grave markers to their original location. According to documents, the City Manager at the time stated that it would be easier to maintain the monument that way.
A newspaper article from 1996 states that city officials have taken the headstones into storage, but when asked by ABC11 where they are stored, we received no answer.
"When we speak of the dead, who can speak for them," Henderson wondered. "Where are the headstones?"
She started a blog called Lane Street Project, which details her attempts to get answers from city officials.
After years of pressure from Henderson, Wilson agreed to pay $29,000 to conduct a radar survey and take images underground. The survey was conducted in June, but the city did not release the report until she filed a public records request.
The results were stunning.
"I was shocked. They discovered 4,224 graves here," she said.
This means that thousands of African Americans buried here between 1913 and 1950 lie beneath the grassy field.
For Henderson, this mission was personal. It's where her uncle is buried. Both she and another Wilson native, 92-year-old Levolir Pitt, were among the many victims of the city of Wilson's decision. Now they will have to pay their respects in front of the monument.
Pitt's grandparents were buried there.
"Who knows what happened to the headstones, but there are probably people in Wilson who know."