Join us for an 1838 Restoration Project to Benefit the Smithville Town Cemetery at the Harvester on Thursday, March 20, the Smithville Town Cemetery.
This project restoration kick-off fundraiser campaign will help enhance and restore our beautiful historic town cemetery to ensure the attention and respect it deserves for generations to come. We'll have live music, silent auction, food, and drinks on site. Open to the public, all ages welcome. More details to come!
More about the 1838 Restoration Project...
Project 1838 is a restoration project designed to restore and enhance historic Smithville Town Cemetery, founded in 1838. For almost two hundred years, there have been no funds for restorative purposes. Therefore, little has been done to restore or beautify the cemetery located on Congress Boulevard in the heart of downtown Smithville. Much of the history of Smithville is buried in this unique space and the cemetery urgently needs our help.
Tommy Webb, DeKalb County historian, had been maintaining the upkeep of the cemetery for years before his death in 2019. When Bethel Thomas, Jr. visited the grave sites of his mother, father, brother, and grandmother in 2018 and expressed concern about the condition of the cemetery, he and
Mr. Webb had several cemetery conversations. Bethel told Mr. Webb he wanted to do something to better honor his family and others buried there. Shortly afterwards, Thomas said he felt compelled to say “yes” when asked to help lead the effort to raise awareness of the cemetery condition and the funds needed for restoration.
Delayed by Covid 19, we now have this exceptional, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to truly honor those buried there for generations to come. We can restore and maintain the cemetery for the next two hundred years, capturing the history of Smithville through the stories of those resting there and creating a space that all who love Smithville can visit and share with pride. The southwest corner of the cemetery is near the intersection of highways 70 and 56. Congress Boulevard is the gateway to beautiful Downtown Smithville. The original fence is already being repaired thanks to a few early financial contributions. Trees are lining the Boulevard on the cemetery side, thanks to a generous gift by the Driver family.
We have landscape architects, contractors, city officials, Chamber of Commerce leaders, and others volunteering their time to Project 1838.
All have a passion for the vision of helping restore the cemetery, honoring the families there, enhancing the overall beauty of Smithville, and creating an even stronger and distinctive community
