MUSKOGEE, Okla. — Parts of Muskogee’s Booker T. Washington Cemetery are in disrepair.
Janet Stump, a 2 News Oklahoma viewer, called KJRH voicing concerns about the cemetery’s condition.
“Somebody’s drove through, literally, over the top of the graves,” Stump said, “There’s tracks going across the tombstone.”
Stump says the condition of the cemetery has been deteriorating for more than two years.
- SEE FOR YOURSELF >>> Click here to see several spots around the cemetery in disrepair
“It’s sad. This is somebody’s family,” Stump said.
A quick walk through the cemetery will show crumbling structures, tree limbs covering monuments, large, muddy patches, and an enormous pile of brush tucked in the backside of the property.
Most of the cemetery’s plots belong to the loved ones of Black Muskogee residents.
Stump said she called the City of Muskogee. Staff told her several people called to complain, but as a private cemetery, there wasn’t much they could do.
2 News Oklahoma called the cemetery’s manager and left a voicemail. At publishing time for this story, the manager did not respond.
Oklahoma statutes call for a “Perpetual Care Fund.” No less than 10% of the sale of plots, the law says, should be used to improve and maintain the facility.
“Maybe the community can pull together and try to help,” Stump said.
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