The author, Steve Bailey, is outreach coordinator at the Anson County Historical Society.
The mission of the Friends of Old Westview Cemetery Inc., led by founder and president Rose Sturdivant Young, is to continue to provide maintenance for this once-abandoned property. The past 19 years have seen an ongoing effort to raise funds and seek grants, and there have been some notable successes along the way.
In June 2006, FOWC installed decorative Westview Cemetery signs. Now, when family members drive by this more than 100-year-old property, they know their loved ones are not forgotten.
FOWC was also instrumental in having “Westview Cemetery” entered in the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior on April 29, 2015.
FOWC has gotten a lot of support along the way from the town of Wadesboro, Anson County, local businesses and citizens, and from students at the University of North Carolina Charlotte and at American University, Law Center, Washington, D.C.
Young’s vision began in January 2001, when her family returned to bury their mother (Ethel R. Sturdivant) next to their father (Lester Sturdivant) in the family plot, and next to their uncle, Julius Sturdivant, and brother, Edward T. Sturdivant, in the Westview Cemetery.
Young’s currently writing a book on the history and restoration of the cemetery. If you’re interested in helping her with this historical project, please contact her as soon as possible, and if you have loved ones buried in the cemetery, she’d like to enter their dates of birth and death into a Westview Cemetery database.
To donate or to volunteer, email Mrs. Young or call her at (301) 675-4476. The corporation is seeking financial assistance to continue with the maintenance of the cemetery.