The City of Melbourne is investing a $50,000 grant into what was once an abandoned African American cemetery. City officials want the community’s input on how to preserve the historic area.

"It’s important for two reasons. It’s the history of the African heritage in this area, as well as some of the founding members of this community and the city who are buried here," City Planner Sandy Ramseth said.

Inside the chain-link fence, there are graves that date back to 1901. Some of the people buried in Line Cemetery on Jackson Street were formerly enslaved individuals who settled in the Crane Creek area in the mid-1880s.

Many people who currently live in the neighborhood didn’t know the cemetery existed, including Roy Horne, who has lived in the area since 1951.

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