A CEMETERY IN PERIL

There exists a rural community, in the eastern part of Jefferson County, by the name of Worthington. That community was founded about the year 1865 near the eastern Jefferson and western Oldham County line. A General Store, blacksmith shop, church, school, and a few residences comprised this community. As the community developed, it became necessary to meet the needs of those early pioneers that left this earth. Of the original buildings, and most of the families, only the cemetery remains.

The community boasts little in the history of the Commonwealth and Jefferson County. The only claim of Worthington is that many of the pioneers of the community, that are now buried in the cemetery, have lent their names to roads and subdivisions in the area. Names such as Chamberlain, Hite, Simcoe and Zaring are found among the headstones. These names may not mean much to the current generation but they certainly mean something to the historians of the times.

The cemetery was established in the 1860s with the first recorded burial in 1866. The cemetery existed as a family cemetery until 1893 at which time the cemetery was acquired by trustees. The Worthington Cemetery Company was established in 1894 to operate and maintain the cemetery. It is listed as a Kentucky Landmark and is considered a "fine, representative example of an open, rural, community graveyard" as acknowledged in a report of the Jefferson County Historic Preservation and Archive Division dated August 10, 1990. There also exist several rustic monuments throughout the cemetery.

The timing of the report coincided with the oncoming sprawl of development into the area. Until then, it was hoped that development would not severely impact the cemetery. The current trustees realized that the cemetery was imperiled when we were contacted during the development for the BP Oil business at the southwest corner of Brownsboro Road and Chamberlain Lane. The trustees talked with Jefferson County Public Works Department and the Kentucky Department of Highways concerning the impact of any planned roadway improvements to the cemetery. At that time, and as recently as the summer of 2001, both agencies worked with the trustees and developed plans that did not call for any encroachment onto cemetery property and, indeed, developed a plan whereby access to the cemetery could take place with lessened danger to travelers.

Often, cooperation occurs between caring people and public agencies when attempting to preserve our heritage while still meeting the needs of the public. At times, however, serving the public means that little, or no, consideration is given to the past.

Urban sprawl brings with it the need to expand utility service to an area. In the case of the cemetery, the Louisville Gas & Electric Company plans to do just that. Attempts have been made by LG&E to purchase easements over the lands of the cemetery. While this may not seem unreasonable to some, to the cemetery the request is taken quite seriously.

The cemetery is all that is left of the original town of Worthington. A barn, and possibly a farmhouse, may still remain but are scheduled for demolition to accommodate the widening of Highway 22. It is important to protect this last vestige of our past. Easements that clear trees from the edge of the property; easements that call for anchoring cables to be placed alongside graves, and easements that allow for underground cables to run through the cemetery are not welcome. The possibility of desecrating existing burials and damaging headstones becomes a reality when no one cares.

The Attorney General's "Task Force on the Preservation of Kentucky Cemeteries" created in 2001, addressed many issues related to abandoned cemeteries particularly methods for their preservation. The works of the Task Force were welcomed by many preservationists and were long overdue. What were not addressed were the rights, and responsibilities, of the thousands of active cemeteries within the Commonwealth. These cemeteries have the moral, and legal, obligation to care for the remains of the deceased against all occurrences. In the case of Worthington Cemetery, the trustees are playing David to Goliath in their attempts to preserve the character of the cemetery. They look out for the rights of those families that have already paid for gravesites, and may have a family member buried in one of the plots. Those families have a deed for rights-of-burial and those deeds do not include the possibility of utility structures being placed in, or alongside, of grave plots.

In the case of LG&E demanding easements within the cemetery, it becomes particularly galling when the easements requested could be re-routed to accomplish the same purpose. One of the easements is to serve commercial property across Chamberlain Lane. This easement is for "guying" purposes, or in other words to anchor the electric line to be extended. This "guy" would intrude into burial spaces and would cause a hazard to pallbearers, family members, and the person digging the graves. This, to serve another fast food establishment or strip mall.

Ours is a fast-paced society demanding immediate gratification of our needs. When does our desire for a hamburger, or a full tank of gas, take precedent over preserving the remains of our ancestors? The Trustees of Worthington Cemetery think that the answer is "never".

(If you know of any situations like this that have been taken to court please contact: Al Matherly at (502) 485-9070)