DORCHESTER COUNTY, Md. — Proposed legislation in the Maryland State House would give local governments the authority to take ownership of abandoned cemeteries and transfer them to groups willing to care for them. County leaders are backing the measure as a way to provide options when burial sites have unclear or unknown ownership.
At last night’s Dorchester County Council meeting, officials unanimously approved a letter of support for House Bill 893, legislation backed by the county’s Burial Site Preservation Board.
Erick Windsor, chair of that board, said many burial sites in the county lack clear ownership.
“We want to see this passed to give the residents of Dorchester County options, as well as the people that have loved ones here that no longer live here,” Windsor told WBOC.
Windsor also emphasized the importance of local documentation of burial sites, which the board has been working toward.
“We're able to look at these and be able to, check who's the owner, be able to reference that,” Windsor said. “And then if we don't have an owner, the government can step in and say, okay, who wants it? And we're turning an orphan site into something that's loved again.”
David Beverley of Crapo, who has an abandoned cemetery on his property, said the county’s backing of the bill could make a difference for families trying to preserve historic burial grounds.
“I think it's great that the county has decided to endorse this,” Beverley said. “I think it'd be very beneficial for the situation that we're facing, when it comes to trying to preserve or at least document where these cemeteries are.”
Beverley, who also serves on the preservation board, noted that Dorchester County faces unique challenges due to environmental changes.
“Dorchester County is unique due to the fact that we're having a lot of changes with the tides and rising water tables in the…county,” Beverley said.
At Saint Thomas Methodist Church Cemetery in Bishops Head — where the congregation has since passed — questions remain about responsibility for nearly 200 graves if the property changes ownership.
“What would happen to the 200 graves at the Saint Thomas Church Cemetery once it transfers hands to a private property owner,” Beverley told WBOC. “In theory, the private property owner would be responsible for that cemetery.”
House Bill 893 would allow local governments to acquire neglected or abandoned cemeteries and transfer them to nonprofits, descendant groups, or other organizations willing to maintain the sites.
The bill is currently pending in the Maryland State House. The measure is up against the clock as Maryland’s legislative session ends this Monday.