You are here

Great American Outdoors Act Funding To Preserve Historic Walls Of Carver Family Cemetery At George Washington Carver National Monument

Share

Skilled masons repairing a stone wall around the Carver Family Cemetery, George Washington Carver National Monument / NPS

Work is underway by the National Park Service (NPS) to repair, rehabilitate, and stabilize 400 linear feet of historic rock wall around the Carver Family Cemetery at George Washington Carver National Monument. The $272,000 project is financed by the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) Legacy Restoration Fund. Work is expected to be completed by the end of July.  

The restoration is being performed by masons from the NPS Historic Preservation Training Center (HPTC). They are assisted by Youth Historic Stewards members provided through a partnership with Conservation Legacy who are being mentored in trade skills by NPS staff. HPTC plays a crucial role in tackling deferred maintenance and repairs in national parks, including projects funded by GAOA. Supported by revenue from energy development, GAOA provides up to $1.3 billion per year for five years to make significant enhancements in national parks to ensure their preservation and provide opportunities for recreation, education, and enjoyment for current and future visitors.  

The repairs on these historic walls at George Washington Carver, funded through the Great American Outdoors Act Maintenance Action Team project, demonstrate how this historic investment is critical to parks of all sizes.  Being able to bring in these skilled masons and members of Conservation Legacy provide needed capacity for the park and helps ensure these important features remain for park visitors to experience.  

Administered by the National Park Service, George Washington Carver National Monument was established to preserve the birthplace and childhood home of George Washington Carver. Born enslaved on the Moses and Susan Carver farm about 1864, George Washington is revered today as an agricultural scientist who came up with hundreds of uses for the peanut, sweet potato, and soybean. He is remembered as an outstanding educator at Tuskegee Institute, a humanitarian who served others with his scientific work, and a proactive voice for racial understanding.  

The Carver Family Cemetery includes the graves of Moses and Susan Carver, other Carver family members, and neighbors from the Diamond Grove community. According to George Washington Carver two of his sisters may also be buried in the cemetery, while George is buried on the campus of Tuskegee University in Alabama.     

 Visitors are invited to walk the grounds, open daily. Please call the park at 417-325-4151 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. for further information. Visit our website at www.nps.gov/gwca and Facebook page. The park is located two miles west of Diamond, Missouri, on Highway V, then south ¼ mile on Carver Road.

Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.