Honoring those buried at Green Lawn Cemetery
About Green Lawn Cemetery
Green Lawn Cemetery was founded by Lawrence Murray,Sr. in May of 1907 to serve the African American community in the Chester City and Delaware County, Pennsylvania region. The cemetery houses at least 2,000 burials, including the graves of at least 250 veterans of the United States Armed Services who served from the Civil War through the 20th century.
Green Lawn is a vital cultural and historical resource in the community where residents can connect and learn about African American history and life, and the important contributions African Americans made to the Chester area, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the nation.
Read more about this cemetery and how Veterans are being honored by the community here.
why we got involved
Many gravestones of Veterans were damaged, or covered in vegetation to the point that you didn't even know where (or what) you were walking on. Here, two Army Veterans and a Marine to ensure the grave markers were set back into place.
creating an entranceway
Meanwhile, members of the team work to create a proper entrance to the Cemetery. Previously, from the road you could tell it was a cemetery, but it was simply a driveway. We set out to bring pride and honor to the space.
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Beautiful entrance beds
In Fall of 2023, we planted Fall foliage and perennials as well as made a plan for planting in Spring of 2024.
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Lots of soil
Army Veteran, Thom dropped off over a dozen bags of soil for the job.
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Mighty volunteers
We can't do any of this important work to remember and honor our Veterans without the teams that come out to help. Join us!
Spring 2024
Mothers and daughters on our volunteer team were ready for our next phase: Build retaining walls for the entrance and plant trees.
Level the hill
adding the trees
adding the trees
The retaining wall needed to be cut out and leveled off.
adding the trees
adding the trees
adding the trees
Meanwhile, volunteers Chris and Joe dig the holes for the border trees.
Building the beds
Creating new spaces with love
Creating new spaces with love
Caroline, Sam and Michele not only planted new perennials, but used the remaining pavers to create a matching border for this entranceway bed.
Creating new spaces with love
Creating new spaces with love
Creating new spaces with love
The team took the extra pavers and placed small spaces within the cemetery for families to find as they remember their loved ones.
Go Navy
Learning new skills
Learning new skills
John and Kevin, Navy Veterans lend a hand to create the retaining wall.
Learning new skills
Learning new skills
Learning new skills
High school senior, Audrey, gets a leveling lesson from volunteer, Chris, who works in construction.
Ready for visitors
The mission will continue
The mission will continue
It is our hope that the families of those buried at Green Lawn Cemetery will feel a sense of pride, honor and respect for their loved ones.
The mission will continue
The mission will continue
The mission will continue
For us, this is just the beginning. Green Lawn will forever be a project that we want to continue to nurture. It has been an honor to serve and we will never forget.