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I never had plans to investigate this place I
seen it behind a gas station in a dark wooded area and thought what is
this cemetery. I remember being cold, wet feet, hungry and was walking
down a highway. Down that highway were a set of tracks which I followed
stopping for a cup of coffee at the gas station. This was the industrial
part of Savannah I was on foot and starting to wear down a little as it
was a couple miles of hiking to get here. When
I entered the cemetery I was shocked cause I did NOT find any grave
stones. I found a few pieces of broken stones, a block of bricks and some
debris. The cemetery was overgrown and various trails led off in the
woods. I could not even see the sky it was so overgrown back here so many
patchy cold spots. I heard movement at times and would look behind me
wondering if I was being watched. It
appeared when I visited that the area was being cleaned up there was piles
of debris...trees were marked for cutting so I was thinking to myself are
they building a cemetery or is there one underneath my feet. LePageville
was a small community almost a town really and it existed in the early
part of the 20th century. The town was known for its railroad which
cuts right along side the cemetery. I walked this railroad a couple miles
to get to the cemetery you can only imagine how hard this investigation
had to be. The cemetery sat dark off in a wooded area beyond its entrance
was the color black. When the railroading stopped the town died much like
most ghosttowns in the nation. The
community stayed active but died by the 1960s and of course most
structures do not even exist. It had a church, graveyard and even homes.
Alot of them were railroad workers, ship builders and even employers of
some of the local industries. Sadly if you walk around this place all your
going to see are pieces of flower pots maybe a couple pieces of broken
tombstone. I
did not know what I was walking into as a paranormal investigator I seen
it and I went into the unknown!
©
By Lord
Rick
______________________________________________________________ Volunteers
Restore Historic Cemetery
Tuesday, 04 July 2006
A long-forgotten, historic Savannah cemetery is getting some much-needed
attention. Only a few deteriorating flower pots are all that mark the
graves at LePageville Memorial Cemetery. Volunteers recently cleared the
cemetery's site off President Street. They're hoping to add a proper
entrance and benches for visitors. In the early 1900s, LePageville was a
real community, but all that changed when the railroad moved in. Now, all
that remains is the cemetery.
Savannah City councilman Ellis Cook got involved when a resident brought
the cemetery to his attention.
"Most people don't even know that LePageville even existed,"
explained Cook. "There was a thriving community here. There was a
church, a graveyard, of course, and until the early sixties, they were a
thriving community right here in Savannah, Georgia."
If you would like to help the LePageville Memorial Cemetery Project, call
George Ponder at (912) 354-4269. You can also make checks payable to:
"LePageville Memorial Cemetery" c/o 4719 Oakview Drive,
Savannah, GA 31405
http://www.wtoctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5102400&nav=0qq6 ______________________________________________________________ Fundraising
project will help cemetery restoration
Polly's People | Saturday, February 16, 2008 at
12:30 am
Remembering what used to be, a group of Savannah
residents are working to restore a cemetery in a village long gone, but
not forgotten.
LePageville was sandwiched between what is now President Street Extension
and the Savannah River. Tiny wooden houses, sometimes referred to as
saltboxes, stretched from what was then Southern States Phosphate and
Fertilizer Co. to just east of Pennsylvania Avenue.
The village was home to railroad workers and later to employees of the
Southeastern Shipbuilding Corp. and Southern States. But as parcels of
land around LePageville were purchased by various companies, residents
left and the community disappeared.
What was left, though, was the cemetery, which had become overgrown with
weeds. The few stones that marked graves were moved to Evergreen Cemetery,
but LePageville natives, like Minnie Lou Robinson, consider the land
sacred because their kinfolk are buried there.
A few years ago, Minnie Lou and longtime LePageville residents George
Ponder, along with the late Alexander Milton and Jesse Ponder, teamed with
Patricia Jenkins, former City Alderman Ellis Cook, Chatham County
Commissioner James Holmes and other concerned people who want to preserve
the cemetery. Jenkins became interested in the cemetery because she lived
nearby and because the late Martha Miller worked for her family and lived
in LePageville.
Last summer, the group celebrated when an arch, gates and part of a fence
went up to mark the location of the cemetery. The next goal is raising
enough money to complete fencing the area, which encompasses a handful of
acres.
At 10 a.m. Feb. 23, the group will have a Boston butt and rib sale at the
cemetery site on Wahlstrom Road, across from Parker's on East President
Street Extension. Pre-orders can be placed by calling Ellis Cook at
658-8198. Ellis and David Blount, who grew up nearby, will be cooking that
day.
Ellis said the cemetery is important to Savannah because it is a piece of
local history.
"People need to know about it," Ellis said.
Additional donations to the cemetery preservation effort can be sent to
George Ponder, 4719 Oakview Drive, Savannah, GA 31405. Checks should be
made to LaPageville Memorial Cemetery Inc.
IF YOU GO
LePageville Memorial Cemetery Day
10 a.m. Feb. 23, 35 Wahlstorm Road. Fundraiser for fencing around the
Historic LePageville Cemetery. Minnie Lou Robinson will speak at the
event. There will be a Boston butt and rib sale and a performance by
Southern Bonz Band. Call 658-8198. ______________________________________________________________ 
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