COLONY, Ala. – Colony’s only cemetery, a resting place of rich history in our county, was placed on the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register on April 9, 2021, due to research gathered by Colony Councilwoman Ethel Alexander. At the time it was granted a position in the Register – a prestigious listing of historic cemeteries in the state of Alabama – the cemetery was only the sixth cemetery registered in Cullman County, out of 910 cemeteries statewide.
Dedicated Tribune readers will recall an article from July 2021 that reported how Alexander asked for funds to place a historical marker on the grounds of the cemetery, colloquially known as Colony Community Cemetery. (See www.cullmantribune.com/2021/07/03/colony-citizens-hope-to-place-marker-at-town-cemetery-following-listing-on-alabama-historic-cemetery-registry.)
But according to the Colony Community Cemetery Committee, the cemetery belongs to Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church, which was not involved in the process of applying for or receiving a position on the register.
The committee voiced concerns over the marker through a letter written to attorney Lateefah Muhammad, chair of the Black Heritage Council of the Alabama Historical Commission. Members of the committee stated that the cemetery is owned by Pleasant Grove, and not the Town of Colony itself. The letter, signed by members of the committee, reads, “There appears to be a good amount of misinformation that has been submitted to your organization. We do not want to change its name or take credit for the misrepresentation that has been done. We cannot change history and do not want to misrepresent it.”
The letter goes on to say that many of the names listed on the marker as early settlers only moved in the last 60 years, and mentioned that a few surnames were misspelled.
The erection and unveiling of the marker, originally scheduled for Nov. 5, 2022, was then canceled.
At a recent meeting of the Colony Community Cemetery Committee, Alexander, who spearheaded the mission to place the cemetery on the Register, took full responsibility for the misspellings, but maintained that the researched basis of applying in the first place is correct.
“This does not take away the historical significance of the marker,” she said.
Alexander voiced her frustrations over the lengthy process and back-and-forth nature of getting the marker erected, and shared that many community members feel frustrated as well.
“No community meeting was ever called to see how the community felt about the marker,” she said.
Alexander said funds raised for the marker, approximately $2,400, were raised by community members whom she feels are owed an explanation of why the marker has not been erected.
Bishop Oscar Turner, president of the Colony Community Cemetery Committee, expressed his frustrations at the church not being included in the process.
“We’ve had two or three meetings on this, and we only meet once a month. We’re behind on other things we need to handle because of this,” he said. He expressed that he is not upset about the cemetery being granted a marker, but the way it was gone about, and had the committee been consulted, the mistakes could have been rectified before the marker went to casting. Once cast, the marker cannot be edited or corrected.
Turner explained, “We should have been in on making the decisions about it, but she (Alexander) had another group of people involved.”
The marker is currently in the fellowship hall of Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church. Moving forward, discussions have been held about fundraising for a new, corrected marker to be erected at the historical portion of the cemetery.
