It’s nearly time for our annual fundraiser, Roots & Stones: An Afternoon in the Cemetery! Come see the changes since last year. Enjoy the fabulous silent auction, cemetery tours, refreshments, conversations with descendants, historians, and volunteers! Be a sponsor to help us achieve our preservation goals. [Note: to have your sponsorship listed in the printed program, please purchase via Zeffy by 9/26 or contact us to let us know a check is en route.]

Please join us on Saturday, Oct. 3, for an afternoon of fun and fellowship at Halfway African American Cemetery, a historic site that was almost lost until cleanup began in 2020. Explore the cemetery, see progress made on important projects in the past year, and learn about plans for the future.

This year we’re raising funds specifically for a Preservation and Site Plan for the cemetery’s future. This professional plan will address issues like headstone repair, placement of stones, landscaping, paths, signage, long-term maintenance, and so on. We’ve received a $10,000 Heritage Fund Grant for this project, through Preservation Maryland, and now we need to match that amount through fundraising.

Some 400 black citizens of Hagerstown were buried at Halfway between 1897 and 1932. We invite you to help us restore and preserve this historic African American cemetery, by attending or supporting this event.

Tentative Program:

3:00 Start time; bidding on Silent Auction begins

3:30 Cemetery Stories Tour

4:00 Welcome & introductions

4:20 Remarks by Bridgett Jones Smith, Tolson’s Chapel

4:45 Silent Auction bidding closes

4:50 Silent Auction winners announced

(Rain date is the following afternoon, Sunday, Oct. 4, same time.)

Tickets are available here.