Renewed Interest in Restoring Abandoned Cemeteries
It is safe to say that today most residents of East Lake County have not heard of Island Pond. It was settled by freed slaves from the Delk Plantation in Apopka at the end of the Civil War. According to Dr. R. Eugene Burley’s book, Mount Dora: The Rest of the Story, Plus!, Sunday worship in 1880 in Island Pond was held in a bush harbor. The church was named Saint Mary’s Baptist. Around 1884 St. Mary’s was moved from Island Pond to the corner of 5th Ave and McDonald Street in Mount Dora and then later to Clayton Street and Florida Avenue, where it exists today.
While many of the original families of Island Pond moved to Mount Dora or Eustis, others remained. Among those early settlers was Mack Reese. In 1902 Mack provided one square acre of land to the trustees of Island Pond Primitive Baptist Church. That acre served in part as a cemetery for African American residents of Island Pond and surrounding areas. A second cemetery, named Island Pond 2 exists several parcels to the east.
If you are a long-time member of the East Lake Historical Society, then you may remember the previous community efforts in 2010 and 2011 to clean up and restore the two cemeteries known as Island Pond One and Island Pond Two. Prompted by a news article about Margaret Reese Williams’ efforts to locate the two cemeteries where her family is buried, local resident Bobby Liles spearheaded the first clean up project. After discovering 7 headstones and an additional 9 unmarked graves, Bobby Liles contacted the East Lake Historical Society to invite the Society to join the effort to preserve the cemeteries. A lot of hard work went into the endeavor that led to the discovery of seventeen graves.
Without safe and reliable access to the two remote cemeteries that are on privately held properties north of Wolf Branch Road, it has been a challenge to maintain the work the volunteer crews did over 12 years ago. Mother Nature has reclaimed the land and it is once again quite overgrown. Now, with advances in technology and pending legislation at the State level to aid in restoration of abandoned cemeteries, there is a renewed interest in finishing the work that was started in 2010.
Read more about this project in the next issue of the ELHS newsletter. If you or anyone you know is interested in participating in this community venture, please reach out to the Society for more information.
