More than a century of history was uncovered on Scenic Highway 98 Sunday in Fairhope, as descendants and concerned community members helped clear debris and overgrowth from around the long forgotten Tatumville Cemetery.

Shelia Ratliff, who helped organize the cleanup, said Tatumville Gully was a historic black community located along the Bay even before Fairhope was founded.

Ratliff has been fighting for this cemetery since 2007, trying to gather records about the cemetery and trying to reach out to local officials and the city for their assistance with little luck. She also had to deal with an adjoining property owner who tried to keep the cemetery covered with overgrown bushes and trees.

“Every time I’d call the city (of Fairhope) or any other officials, they’d always tell me I needed to call someone else, so I finally contacted the Alabama Historical Commission,” Ratliff said. “That’s what really got this process moving forward more quickly.”

Ratliff enlisted the help of Clarice Black, who had several relatives buried in the cemetery to assist her with research and gathering the paperwork to apply for historic register approval.

“I sent in the paperwork to the state and was surprised to get a response within a week or so granting approval,” Black said. “From there, we did a GoFundMe account and have been trying to raise money for the historical marker, which costs about $2,000.”

Black and many others who gathered to help clear the debris Sunday were descendants of the deceased buried there with last names like Buchanan, Kirkman and Denton.

While the group was pleased to finally be able to start clearing the site, all there agreed that a lot of damage had already been done, including the moving and destruction of some of the headstones.

“We don’t actually know how many people are buried here right now because there has been some displacement of headstones and possibly remains,” Ratliff said. “Because of the development in this area with all these residential homes, we may never really know everyone that might have been here.”

Ratliff said she and the others are working to get not only the historic marker, but also trying to get some fencing help to help better protect and preserve the loved ones buried there.

“I am not sure how I got on this path but I do know that it was all about remembering those individuals who came before the generations that exist today,” Ratliff said. “Even more importantly, I feel that it is truly vital that the history of the area be recorded and also shared with others, the ‘before Fairhope.’”

Ratliff added there are several more cemeteries in the area that have been similarly neglected, including one down 98 off Molokai Road. She said she will continue to try to preserve and protect them, too.

“We should never erase history for the benefits of others,” Ratliff said. “If it were not for those that came before us, would the area be as vibrant as it is today? Definitely not.”