The Museums of Historic Hopkinsville-Christian County has planned its first cemetery cleaning of the season, also known as Tombstone Tuesday, and community members are invited to help at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 20, at Union Benevolent Society Cemetery on Vine Street.
“Folks will receive a brief training on respectful cemetery etiquette and on how to document and clean historic tombstones safely before grabbing a bucket and brush,” a museum staff member said in a press release.
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The museum will provide supplies for cleaning, and bug spray. Volunteers should wear closed-toe shoes and long pants.
The UBS established the cemetery in 1866 to serve the community of formerly enslaved people in Christian County.
Commonly referred to Vine Street Cemetery, it is “the final resting places of hundreds of local people, including dozens of African American veterans of the Civil War.”
The cemetery is located in the area behind the old Attucks school. It is on Vine Street directly across from Dupuy Street.
There are 190 graves at the Vine Street Cemetery recorded on the Find-A-Grave website. Most of the research for the site was done by former Hopkinsville resident Joe Craver, who received the Kentucky Historical Society’s Award of Distinction in 2023 for his volunteer work.
Weather permitting, Tombstone Tuesday events are also planned on June 24 and July 29. Additional information is available by calling the museum at 270-887-4270.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
