Double Springs Memorial Celebration

Remembering, Honoring, Celebrating

On this Memorial Day weekend, a memorial celebration service was held at the site of the historic Double Springs AME Zion Church in Lewisville, North Carolina. Friends, family and a few remaining former members gathered at the church’s graveyard this past Saturday, May 23, 2009 to remember, honor and celebrate.

They remembered those who had gone before them in the founding of the church and in the life of the church until its final service in 1982. And they recounted the efforts that began over ten years ago to clean up, repair and improve the graveyard. (See the previous post, Graveyard Tour – Double Springs AME Zion, for additional coverage of the church’s history and graveyard renovation efforts.)

They honored the remaining living members of the church. And they celebrated with song, fellowship and good food.

To access the PHOTO GALLERY, as well as to hear a 10-MINUTE AUDIO RECORDING of the service highlights, please continue to the NEXT SECTION. CLICK for more on the Double Springs Memorial Celebration

Graveyard Tour – Double Springs AME Zion

Double Springs AME Zion Church

The second of six stops on the 2009 Historic Graveyard Tour held on May 2, 2009 in Lewisville, North Carolina took us to the site of Double Springs AME Zion Church. (Click to read the previous post on the Historic Graveyard Tour at Concord United Methodist Church.)

Although the Double Springs AME Zion Church building no longer exists, the ties of family and faith played a key role in resurrecting the church’s once-neglected and much-vandalized graveyard which dates back to the early 1900s.

To see and hear more regarding Double Springs AME Zion Church and its graveyard, simply continue to the NEXT SECTION for PHOTOS, AUDIO, a MAP and news of a SPECIAL EVENT on Saturday, May 23, 2009. CLICK for more on Double Springs AME Zion Church

Historic Graveyard Tour

Tour Overview

This past Saturday (May 2, 2009) I joined about 20 other individuals on the Historic Graveyard Tour that took us to six historic graveyards in the Lewisville Township. The tour began at the Lewisville Library and was sponsored by the Lewisville Historical Society’s Sesquicentennial Steering Committee. The six graveyards we visited are located at the following sites:

• Concord United Methodist Church
• Double Springs AME Zion Church (the church building no longer exists)
• Panther Creek Plantation (private property)
• Lewisville Baptist Church
• Lewisville United Methodist Church
• Shiloh Lutheran Church

Before departing for our first stop, each tour participant received a handout with information on each historic graveyard. Upon arriving at each graveyard, we were met by an individual who provided additional history regarding each site.

Upcoming Coverage

I took a number of photos at each graveyard, and I also tried to capture some audio of the oral historical session provided at each site. Over the next few weeks, I’ll feature each graveyard separately, with lots of photos, and possibly some audio, if the recording quality is good. I’ll be interspersing the coverage of each graveyard between other Lewisville events until each of the graveyards has been covered.

Meanwhile, shown next is a photo from each of the historic graveyards.
CLICK to see photos from the Historic Graveyard Tour