ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Residents near the Douglass Memorial Cemetery in Old Town are no longer surprised about the flooding that takes place seemingly every time it rains hard.
The historically black cemetery is next to other cemeteries along Wilkes Street, but it noticeably sustains the most flooding out of all of them, according to neighbors in the area.
Neighbors who live in condos right next to the cemetery watch water accumulate in the middle of the cemetery where it has been home to around 2,000 people before burials ended in the 1970s.
"We're a little bit worried because it seems like the land and cemetery have been progressively lowering," one neighbor told WUSA9. "It's a continual problem that needs to be addressed by the city."
There are questions over the foundation of the land between the cemetery and the condos that neighbor the sacred place.
Named and established after the abolitionist Frederick Douglass in 1895, there are about 600 gravestones left. Worsening conditions over the last few years shifted and even broke many of the grave markers.
Alexandria resident Michael Johnson said three of his family members are buried at the site, but is unclear exactly where since their gravestones have been lost.
"There's a lack of respect," Johnson said.
An email sent to Johnson from a city archaeologist pointed the problem potentially to a stream channel running through the site. It is possible the natural channel was enclosed in a pipe and covered during the landscape work when it was first established. It appears there is a drainage problem that makes the flooding even worse.
"Who knows a heavy enough rain, you never what could come popping out of the soil, caskets ... that would be horrible," neighbor Tamara De La Camp said.
The cemetery, which has been abandoned and maintained by the City of Alexandria, underwent a restoration project by the Boy Scouts in 2019 which unveiled a new sign.
The city archaeologist said there are limits since the cemetery is technically now owned by the city.
"City staff respect the sensitive nature of the site and are monitoring the increase in flooding," a city spokesperson said in a statement. "African American cemeteries are fragile and significant resources. We respect the individuals buried in Douglass Cemetery and their family members who visit today. The City of Alexandria wants to reassure family members and residents that this final resting place is preserved, protected, and maintained."