The Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation (LTHP) announces the launch of the Louisiana Register of Historic Cemeteries, a public database to increase awareness of historic cemeteries for their protection, maintenance and respect for those buried within them.
Starting with a list of approximately 8,500 cemeteries across the state for which the name and location is known, the program will rely on help from the public to provide photos and more information about the age, size, boundary, and condition of burial grounds. There is also an opportunity to share information about cemeteries which are not currently shown on the map, which may be abandoned or known by only a few people. In order for a site to be certified on the Louisiana Register of Historic Cemeteries, at least one of the following conditions must be met:
• Must be 50+ years since the first burial; and/or
• Must contain the burial of a person of local, state or national importance by reason of civic, public, or military service, cultural achievement or historical significance; and/or
• Must contain structures that are considered architecturally significant.
With the popularity of home DNA kits, digitalization of archives and records and genealogy programs like Ancestry and USGenWeb, people are discovering connections to their past which have been difficult or impossible to know before. The Louisiana Register of Historic Cemeteries offers the opportunity for people from around the country to learn where their ancestors in Louisiana are buried. This can lead to increased tourism as well as improved maintenance of historic cemeteries, once descendants learn about sites with a family connection. The database also has the opportunity to reduce damage to historic burials and added expenses and delays to construction projects like buildings and roads, when an unknown cemetery is discovered once a project is underway.
The website also offers a list of resources on cemetery legislation, conservation and documentation, as well as the meanings of symbolism most often found. Information is also available about the various types and replacement of damaged military markers. “We want this site to be a tool for the public to use for education and preservation of historic cemeteries around our state,” says Brian Davis, executive director for the Louisiana Trust. “We work in all 64 parishes and see historic cemeteries in all conditions from well-manicured, to abandoned to endangered. Cemeteries from cities to the coast and the information they tell about a community are under threat from erosion, storms and subsidence, like those in Leeville, in lower Lafourche Parish.”
To see which historic sites are in your area or to contribute information and photos about a historic cemetery, visit https://historic-cemeteries.lthp.org/. There is no fee for nominating a cemetery to be certified in the Louisiana Register of Historic Cemeteries.
The Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation was founded in 1979 with the mission to advocate, promote and preserve historic places representing our diverse culture. It is the statewide historic preservation 501(c)3 non-profit organization, working in all 64 parishes and donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. For more information about the Louisiana Trust and their work, visit LTHP.org.