HARTFORD, Conn. — A Hartford cemetery is in disrepair, and loved ones are demanding action, but holding someone accountable is more challenging than it might seem.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it’s easy to look at the Spring Grove Cemetery and be disgusted with its condition. But with plenty of secrets six feet under, to understand its history is to understand how it got that way.
“All this grass is growing all over the tombstone,” remarked Pastor Floyd Johnson, of Hartford.
Beyond the wrought iron gate and below the brownstone and marble lies Hartford’s past.
“We just don’t understand. Why is this cemetery a disaster like this?” asked Floyd Johnson. “And they are still burying people here."
Does the cemetery have a future?
“There is no true ownership of Spring Grove,” said Ray Johnson, Spring Grove’s manager.
Established in 1845, the Spring Grove Cemetery is 33-acres of gently rolling land in the capital city’s North End. It’s truly a microcosm of American History. From segregation to the Civil War - 350 soldiers are buried there, while two sections are parceled only for African Americans, including the country’s first black firefighter.
For years, Spring Grove was a flourishing final resting place for the likes of Laurent Clerc, who co-founded America’s first school for the deaf, and famous painter Frederic Church.
“Unfortunately, we have run through some tough times,” remarked Ray Johnson.
It’s trashed, vandalized and disheveled. It’s a haven for rodents, drug use and crime.
“People come in here and tear up the tombstones, and people sleep in the cemetery. The gate is not being locked,” remarked Floyd Johnson.
For Floyd Johnson, cleaning up the cemetery is personal. His mother is buried there along with his older brother, but he can’t even find the headstone. He’s gathered signatures for a petition.
“We are trying to get this cemetery cleaned up due to the complaints we get every day,” said Pastor Floyd.
Ray Johnson, the one man responsible for the cemetery’s upkeep, said, “The past 10 years, we’ve tried our best to make sure we keep up with it, but things like inflation and the stock market have taken its toll on Spring Grove.”
Ray Johnson said the cemetery’s association has died off. Its board of directors disbanded and its money was depleted. What little money is available is used to pay a guy to mow the modern section.
“He’s almost volunteering his time for the cost that he does it,” said Ray Johnson.
Floyd Johnson says the revitalization of Spring Grove is now largely in the hands of the community.
“If they can help and want to take care of a section or space, please help, so we can all jump in until Spring Grove can get back to where Spring Grove once was," he said.
City officials did authorize and pay for a one time cleanup back in August, and state lawmakers are working to secure more funding, but it remains to be seen if Spring Grove will ever dignify the dead in the way it once did.
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Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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