HAMPTON — The William Tucker 1624 Society signed a open spaces grant of $100,000 Friday morning at the William Tucker Cemetery.
Gov. Ralph Northam along with Vincent Tucker, president of the William Tucker 1624 Society, signed a declaration, making the cemetery open and accessible to the public permanently.
The grant was funded by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation.
In remarks to the crowd during the ceremony, Northam said it was an honor to be here and that it was shameful the cemeteries of African-Americans were not being better kept.
He said he hopes with this grant the cemetery will be well maintained.
Using ground-penetrating radar the society was able to ascertain that there were 105 previously unknown and unmarked graves on the cemetery’s two acres.
The society will use the money to better preserve the cemetery.
Margaret Wilson, president of the Historical Foundation of Aberdeen Gardens, called Friday’s event a “milestone in the history of Aberdeen Gardens,” and expressed great pleasure in having the funds to upkeep the cemetery.
The ceremony was the first of several events for the African Arrival Commemoration happening this weekend.
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