Melbourne is examining a historic cemetery to determine additional boundaries and locate graves.

MELBOURNE, FL. – The City of Melbourne has begun a study of a historic cemetery.

Thanks to the grant, the project aims to define the boundaries of the Line Street Cemetery.

According to a social media post, city officials used ground penetrating radar to more effectively map the area and determine if there were additional burials outside the fenced area that currently delineates the cemetery’s “known” boundaries and location. and the number of burials in the fenced area.

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Preliminary results showed that there were 13 burials inside the fence, and a further 31 burials outside the fence. City officials said the area is now temporarily marked with flags and markers identifying the locations.

Line Street Cemetery, located on W.H. Jackson Street was established in 1901 and was originally registered as a historical resource in 2011. At some point, the cemetery became overgrown with Brazilian pepper trees, weeds and trash. In 1980, a group of Boy Scouts spent three weekends cleaning up a cemetery.

City officials said the study is the first task under the Neglected African American Cemeteries grant, which was awarded to Melbourne in May.

Once the city receives the final report of the ground penetrating radar survey, it will formally locate all burial sites and seek future conservation strategies.

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