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Tarpon Springs’ Rose Cemetery cleanup planned

Nonprofits ask for help for one of Tampa Bay’s most historic cemeteries.
 
Tarpon Springs' Rose Cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Tarpon Springs' Rose Cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [ TIMES STAFF | Tampa Bay Newspapers ]
Published Oct. 10, 2019

TARPON SPRINGS — A slew of nonprofits are asking for the community’s help to clean up one of Tampa Bay’s most historic cemeteries this weekend.

On Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., volunteers will embark on a cleanup of the Rose Cemetery, which for well over a century has provided a final resting place to African-Americans in north Pinellas County. The cemetery is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Rose Cemetery Association, the Tarpon Springs Rotary Club, Cops ’n Kids and the Rose Cemetery Alliance and Perpetual Care, Inc. will all have a presence at the cleanup, according to a flier for the event.

RELATED: Rose Hill Cemetery nominated for the National Register of Historic Places

Christina Davy, the president of the alliance, said the day will include yard work, brush trimming and debris clearing. Refreshments will be served: Panera pastries and coffee in the morning; hot dogs for lunch.

The cleanup is part of an ongoing effort to maintain Pinellas County’s oldest previously segregated cemetery.