There’s a renewed effort to clean up South Bend’s City Cemetery, one of the most historic sites in Michiana.
The headstones are engraved with familiar names, like Studebaker, Sample, and Colfax, people who helped create the South Bend we know today.
But look closer and you might think their contributions have been forgotten.
Many headstones are toppled over and parts of the cemetery are in disrepair, but a growing group of volunteers, genealogy geeks, history buffs, and people who just want to see a change are hammering out a plan to restore dignity to City Cemetery.
They have a lot of work to do as evidenced when someone asked during a preservation project group meeting Tuesday night if the cemetery is even safe to visit.
“I think you need to be cautious,” said Steve Nemeth, who oversees the cemetery for the South Bend Parks Dept., “I would recommend you go with another person, but I don’t think it’s horrible.”
Their goal is to someday treat the space like a park. Yes there are graves, but it’s one of the larger green-spaces in town.
They envision new trails, plaques, benches, and nicer landscaping, among other ideas.
“It will help revitalize that area,” said Oliver Davis, South Bend Common Council member, “using the graveyard to bring back life to the whole area is a very interesting concept, but it really does.”
Right now they’re just trying to figure out what needs to be done and how much it’ll cost.
Ultimately much of the work will fall on the shoulders of volunteers and donors who see so much potential in South Bend’s past.
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