Roots Revealed: Restoring Pine Forest Cemetery

Pine Forest Cemetery is one of Wilmington's oldest and most historically significant burial grounds. It holds the remains of generations of residents — many of them connected to pivotal moments in this city's history, including the events of 1898. But keeping up with a cemetery of this size without dedicated funding is an enormous task. Volunteers have worked hard to maintain it over the years, but nature doesn't wait — and without the equipment and resources to manage large-scale tree growth and invasive vegetation, much of the cemetery has gradually become inaccessible. Today, more than 300 graves are buried under overgrowth, fallen limbs, and unmanaged trees. Some are invisible entirely.

These are not forgotten people. They are someone's ancestor, someone's family. They deserve better — and so does this community.

This is where you come in.

Pine Forest Education & Learning Center (PFELC) is leading the charge to restore access to these lost graves. We've partnered with a licensed, local tree care professional who is donating labor and resources wherever possible — but the operational costs are real. Equipment, safety gear, disposal, insurance, and fair wages for skilled crew add up fast. Every dollar raised goes directly to this work.

What your donation funds:

Safe removal of hazardous trees and fallen debris
Clearing of invasive growth around headstones and burial sites
Creating accessible paths for families, historians, and caretakers
Ongoing maintenance to keep restored areas accessible

Our goal is $50,000. The first $25,000 completes the critical restoration work. The remaining funds go toward continued maintenance so this progress isn't lost again.

This isn't just landscaping. It's dignity. It's history. It's a community saying these lives mattered and still do.

Give what you can. Share widely. Help us bring these roots back into the light.

Pine Forest Education and Learning Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to education, cultural preservation, and community engagement through historical research and storytelling. Our mission is to illuminate the heritage and legacies that shape our community and to foster a deeper understanding of our collective past.

Roots Revealed

Restoring Pine Forest Cemetery

Team Members