Carroll volunteers working to restore cemetery for black veterans, ‘make amends’ for vandalism, decay

Just over a decade after the conclusion of the American Civil War, six black Union Army veterans ⁠— Reuben Walker, David Ireland, William Adams, Lewis Dorsey, William Massey and Samuel Bowens ⁠— established the Ellsworth Cemetery on Dec. 21, 1876. Since then, the cemetery has endured not just normal wear and tear, but also vandalism, leaving some of the plots unmarked and headstones eroded and shattered. About 50 headstones have been destroyed or taken, according to records from the Historical Society of Carroll County. Due to its poor condition, it has gone largely unnoticed by the community.

Now, more than 140 years after the cemetery’s founding, Carroll County organizations are teaming up to help restore Ellsworth Cemetery, which today is next to the Wawa at 805 Leidy Road in Westminster. The Community Foundation of Carroll County, a nonprofit based in Westminster, and the Manchester chapter of the Knights of Columbus, a fraternal organization of the Catholic Church, have been working together to restore the cemetery’s former glory. The Knights of Columbus chapter is based at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church.

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Source: Carroll County Times