Trash has repeatedly turned up at a historic cemetery in Lake County, and community members have called for action. They're now working to stop the illegal dumping plaguing the historic burial ground and keep the site from becoming a dumping ground.
The issue was featured in a report from FOX 35 Orlando. Evergreen Cemetery in Leesburg is the site identified in local community posts as drawing formal county attention. In response, community members organized a cleanup and are now calling for additional action, according to the same account.
County Steps In With Formal Violation Notice
The dumping has not gone unnoticed by local government. Lake County Code Enforcement issued a formal Notice of Violation citing an “Accumulation of Solid Waste” to the property owners of record for Evergreen Cemetery, according to a community Facebook post. County officials also scheduled a formal Special Magistrate hearing to address the violation, according to a separate local Facebook post tracking the case.
The same Facebook post describes the county's process for addressing a cited solid waste violation. The community cleanup effort described by FOX 35 Orlando is part of the broader response to the problem.
Volunteers Fill the Gap Left by Absent Maintenance
The cited material does not establish maintenance duties for Project Evergreen Cemetery or collaboration with local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Lake County also funds Keep Lake Beautiful, an official Keep America Beautiful affiliate, according to a county-affiliated Facebook video.
The article does not identify legal alternatives for disposing of bulk waste. Illegal dumping is also a county concern.
Illegal Dumping and Cemetery Damage
The article discusses illegal dumping and cemetery damage.
The Leesburg case echoes a troubling pattern seen elsewhere in the South, where unmonitored historic cemeteries have become targets for illegal waste. In DeKalb County, Georgia, hundreds of dumped tires damaged headstones at a century-old church cemetery, a case Hoodline covered in March.
Parks & Beautification identified the company responsible for the dumping near Evergreen Cemetery. The provided material does not identify the property owners or report the status of enforcement action involving them. The available reports describe cleanup efforts but do not establish that the grieving husband and his neighbors personally kept the gravesite clear.
