By Jason Morton, Associated Press
Northport, AL – At the end of a narrow, gravel road on the edge of Lake Tuscaloosa is the final resting place of at least 300 slaves.
Many of the graves are unmarked, while some are identified by names scrawled on crude sandstone markers.
The Old Prewitt Slave Cemetery dates back more than 180 years, but since the 1970s has been nestled right against the bank of Lake Tuscaloosa.
Directly across the lake from the slave cemetery is the Prewitt-Hagler Cemetery, the burial place of about 20 of Tuscaloosa County's earliest residents, including John Welch Prewitt, a slaveowner who fought in the War of 1812.
When the lake was impounded to provide an adequate source of drinking water for Tuscaloosa, it formed a deep boundary between the slaves and those who once owned them and blocked public access to both historic cemeteries.
Tuscaloosa resident and Prewitt slave descendant James 'Wood' Wilson has obtained permission from two private landowners to access the Prewitt Slave Cemetery.
But now, he is trying to ensure the public can get to the slave burial ground for years to come.
"You've got to give the public rights to access this cemetery," Wilson said.
Before his death at the age of 85 in March 1878, John Welch Prewitt, had amassed an estimated 6,000-acre plantation just north of what is now Northport.
But now, because of the lake and the sale of property from one private landholder to another, the Old Prewitt Slave Cemetery is no longer freely accessible to the public. Private property must be crossed to get there.
And the Prewitt-Hagler Cemetery is completely landlocked, with its only public access point coming not over land but by water. A privately owned forest encloses the cemetery's other borders.
Earlier this month, Wilson took his plea to the Tuscaloosa County Commission, and the county's Engineering Department and legal team are looking for answers.
Mike Henderson, the county's engineering coordinator, said he's nearing a possible resolution that he intends to take to Jim Adkins, who owns the land east of the slave cemetery, and Mike Musgrove, owner of the land on the cemetery's north side.
County Attorney Robert Spence said the county government's only duty is to make sure access to a cemetery isn't blocked to those entitled to be there.
"I don't think we have an obligation to go out there, mark off the cemetery and build a road to it," Spence said.
Spence cited a section of state law that mandates that the owners of land on which a private cemetery rests must give access to "family members, friends, or descendants of deceased persons buried there; any cemetery plot owner; and any person engaged in genealogical, historical, or cultural research ..."
The public, including the casual history buff, is excluded.
But that's not enough for Wilson, who said he wants to make sure future generations can freely come see what some consider to be the largest slave cemetery in Alabama.