By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter
They’re supposed to be a quiet, sacred place. Most burial grounds are.
But, there’s much noise coming from within the corporate city limits of Bromley about property behind 201 Moore Street. It is the final resting place for the Gardner Harris Family Burial Grounds. And, oh, if the dead could hear.
City Councilwoman Gail Smith, 66, a lifelong Bromley resident, says a group is interested in purchasing the lot that has been considered the entrance to the cemetery. The City of Bromley owns that piece. If this parcel is sold, the access to the cemetery would be hindered.
“It’s really a vacant lot,” Smith told the Northern Kentucky Tribune. “But the land is basically the entrance to the cemetery. A group has expressed interest in purchasing that lot.”
The legal description found on PVA records describes the cemetery as being 175ft x 70ft; and the current owner of that property is unknown.
“A deed could not be found at the Kenton County Courthouse,” Smith said.
Before selling anything, she says, “we need to find the actual boundaries of the cemetery.”
In 1980, during a ground breaking, Smith claims she noticed headstones, not far from the property in question.
“What I’m concerned about,” she said, “is that this land potentially may have headstones on it. We just don’t know how long it goes or how wide it is.”
Interest in purchasing the entrance lot was expressed earlier and “nothing developed during that period,” she said, “But now the subject and interest has resurfaced. Just last week, I located 10 graves on land that leads directly into the cemetery.”
She didn’t reveal the names of the potential purchasers.
Asked if family members could be located from the tombstones, Smith said: “We don’t know any of the family members. Most of these tombstones are from the early 1800s.”
Smith said she checked on-line through the website Find-A-Grave.
“There should be about 30 people buried on that land,” she said. “There have been eight-to-10 headstones in place. Some of those names were recognized as ‘Gardner’ and ‘Foley.’”
The biggest problem, for Smith and the City of Bromley, is actually how to access the property to enter the cemetery if the lot is sold.
“The property needs to be sorted out,” she said. “We’ll need a surveyor, or perhaps even a Real Estate attorney with deeds to find out who owns what.”
She also expressed concerned about the deplorable conditions found in the cemetery piece during a recent visit with two others.
“The property is grossly overgrown. A path was found to be cut through a portion of the property and on either side of the path, headstones were found,” she said.
Information gathered on Find-A-Grave indicates there are approximately 30 people buried on the grounds one of which is the founding father of the City of Bromley, Charles Collins.
“These conditions are morally unacceptable,” said Smith, who made it clear she is speaking for herself and not for the City of Bromley. “I just want the cemetery restored to a peaceful and sacred ground.”