By Heather Bell
RADFORD – The final resting place of a Revolutionary War soldier, enslaved people, a member of the Virginia General Assembly and many others has been cleaned up thanks to the efforts of the local Daughters of the American Revolution chapter and other helpful citizens.
A dedication ceremony was held Friday, Nov. 15 at the site of Zoll Cemetery, gathering many of the people who helped clean up the site to celebrate the installation of a sign detailing the history of the site. The cemetery, utilized from 1745- 1966, fell into disrepair after the land surrounding it was auctioned following the death of its owner and, later, during the building of Interstate 8l.
The land where the cemetery is located was first recorded in land deeds in 1745 and eventually was owned by James Zoll, a cattle farmer and member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1932, who owned 1,100 acres of land. The land was auctioned off when Zoll died without a will. The land was sold several times over the years, and no one took care of the cemetery, which was the first public cemetery in Montgomery County. When the Virginia Department of Highway started construction on I-81 in 1967, it took one-third of the cemetery, knocking over fencing, trees and destroying tombstones. The land that includes the remaining portion of the cemetery was annexed in the 1970s by the City of Radford and is located in the Radford Industrial Park.
“The Zoll cemetery project was brought to our chapter’s attention by Lea Wall,” said Nona Gabbert, Regent of the General William Campbell of the DAR during the ceremony. “Lea is a descendant of James “Jim” Zoll, who was the last of the Zolls that lived on the property, and we are proud to have her as one of our chapter members.”
“Lea presented to the chapter the history of the cemetery, maps showing location of Mongomery family graves, and those of slaves that were buried in the cemetery,” Gabbert continued. “Our next step in this project was to visit the cemetery. We were appalled to find that the cemetery was desecrated thick with brush and dead trees fallen. As we researched this project further it seemed to be a bit overwhelming, as the chapter did not have the funds or the means to do the necessary things to bring respect and dignity back to those that were buried there. This included a Revolutionary Soldier Micheal Price (1719-1802), those who were slaves, and many World War II soldiers. Everyone was welcome to be buried here.”
The chapter reached out to District VII of the DAR and was given $100 for the project, which was then personally matched by the District VII Director Jeanne Dooley. They gathered volunteers from the community and spent many hours painstakingly clearing the cemetery, leaving all tombstones and significant-sized stones in place, as the graves of slaves were often marked by rocks and stones.
Gabbert recognized several groups and individuals who helped with the effort, including:
SFSC Engineering cares team, Lee Dowless, Matt Hotzer, Paura Parrish, Jeff Austin, Anna Stronce, Kevin Slusher, Anne Hall, Andre Huneault;
Radford VFW Post 776, Dana Jackson, Nathan Vanhoy and Gary Harris;
Sea Cadets: ENS David Long, Inst Kevin Binner, Inst Katy Carve, PO2 Mary Smith, PO3 Giles Lard, and SN Cole Binner; and DAR District VII.
“Thank you for partnering with us to bring this historic dedication to fruition,” said Gabbert. “These groups did the impossible. They cleared the bush and built a natural barrier around the cemetery using logs from trees that they had cut down. In clearing the cemetery, they were careful not to remove any stones, as they could be slave grave markers.”
Other speakers included local historian Sarah Carter and Radford Mayor David Horton.
