Over a year after receiving a some $40,000 boost from a kick-off fundraiser, the historic Smithville Town Cemetery taking the next step in renovations.
Bethel Thomas Jr. said the project was made possible by the strong support of the community. Following the initial phase, Thomas said his team will build a cobblestone fence on the eastern side of the graveyard to match the 17th-century feel.
“People are hungry for a common mission together,” Thomas said. “So I think this provides something that every little, every little town needs and we need in this country, which is something that good people, there’s so many good people that want to make a difference. And so this gives the good people in Smithville, and friends scattered across the country, now a chance to do something good for their community.”
Thomas said the restoration team have given the graveyard a “CAT-scan” to analyze how the graves have shifted underground over time. Bethel said the group is restoring the fence and columns at the entrances, as well as constructing a driveway through the cemetery.
“I think the impact will be because it’s such a, let me call it a bipartisan effort in this highly partisan world that is just something that everybody in Smithville can get behind because it’s a ‘we’, it’s an ‘our,’” Thomas said. “I’m not doing it. No, it’s bigger than any one of us. And it’s going to take friends of the cemetery to make it happen.”
As a Smithville-native, Thomas said the mission is personal. Thomas said many of his family members are buried in Smithville Town Cemetery. Historic figures like Justin Potter and Danny and Eddie Evans, the founders of Cracker Barrel, are also buried there.
“So many people have ancestors buried there and so many people have friends buried there,” Thomas said. “And it contains, just, as I said, the history of Smithville.”
The cemetery and the city of Smithville were both founded in 1838. The team will hold a community meeting in May to share updates and vision for the cemetery.
“A lot of the local businesses in revitalize Smithville are engaged with this project, and so it just has got a lot of momentum,” Thomas said. “I think for that reason, and people are noticing because the work is begun along Congress Boulevard. And they can really see the difference.”