The Goats are Back at Forest View Cemetery

Forest View Cemetery sits at 4909 Bassett Avenue. Established in the 1800’s, the cemetery has suffered neglect in the ensuing years becoming overgrown with brambles and ivy. Friends of Forst View Cemetary have been working to restore the cemetery. The latest example is bringing in RVA Goats for a bit of bramble munching. The goats are expected to be there for a few more days. You can donate to Friends of Forest View Cemetary here.

Forest View Cemetery is registered with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and can be found on a map dated 1898, though it could date back much further. Bernard Markham, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, owned the land in 1768 and more research needs to be done to learn about the land’s prior uses. Neighborhood lore tells us that it may have been a slave cemetery. It has been told that a Native American man, who lived on the property and tended the well, is buried there. There is also the story of a woman who was said to be too large for a coffin, so she was buried sitting in a straight back chair. Residents who grew up in the neighborhood remember playing among the headstones in the 1950’s, but the lot has become so overgrown with brambles and ivy that the headstones are no longer visible.