The Sad State of the Black Cemetery - Allegheny Mountaineer 

very cool thanks for sharing

This cemetery is in the woods by my home. Through the decades we have been here (1954 to present) there have been a lot of "parties" there - young people drinking, moving the headstones into a circle around fires, even satanic symbols graffiti on the headstones etc.. When my boys were young in the early 1980's, they came across two men carrying burlap sacks. It turns out they were actually digging up the graves. We contacted the police and worked with them to do sketches and they asked us to call 911 if we saw them again. Within a week, we saw the men and the police came and arrested them. I seems they were brothers and were salavaging from the graves. We haven't seen much activity there lately since there has been quite a bit of development in the past 15 years., before that, the area was mostly wooded so the kids took advantage of the isolation. I have a copy of the newpaper article from the police investigation at the time dated May 3 1988.

I remember my dad telling me about this...But he's been gone since 1995. Another old cemetery I heard about is up on the hill by the old EUB church, up the road from the Allegro Restaurant. Thanks for sharing this.

Love this video. If you could do Hutchinson Cemetary, that be awesome!

My paternal grandmother had Black surnames in her family that she was related to. I guess I need to check out this cemetery and see if any of her ancestors or relatives were buried here. I know she went to a Black family reunion every year. I am 73 , so this was a long time ago, but worth check in out. Thanks for sharing.

So sad about the condition of this cemetery. I might have relatives in that cemetery. I Googled. My grandmother’s mother was a Bollinger. An Arlene Bollinger was an early historian of the Black family.

Kittanning path is still visible behind Ashville VFW Park off of MarkHanna Road

There is a cemetery that is much older than this in the woods behind the Altoona Mirror. It's in worse condition than this one. Also McDowell Cemetery by 17th Street has graves from the 1700's. A couple of George Washinton's soldiers are buried there.

It is always so sad to see cemeteries in this bad shape. A tip for reading head stones.-use a flashlight and shine it sideways across the lettering and it is easier to read. I watch a channel from Georgia who finds old cemeteries and that is what they do. Keep up the good work.

Kudos to you for your efforts, and thank you for making certain these people are remembered and honored. I would very much like to visit this decrepit cemetery. Would you reveal how to locate and access it?

Also, one of my Dad’s brothers kept telling me that his grandmother Emma had Native Ancestry. Could the Native American buried in this graveyard be the clue?