When Bluff City Cemetery opened in 1889, many of the graves and monuments from Channing Street Cemetery were transferred to this location. When there were no family members to pay the cost of moving the graves, the remains stayed at Channing. When they started to dig the foundation for Channing School in 1968, many remains were found and brought to Bluff City for re-burial in a common grave. The injustice of the common grave really affected Elgin historian Steve Stroud and he started fundraising for a memorial headstone. Sadly, Steve passed away on April 5, 2019. With the funds received for his memorial, his vision of a memorial headstone for those buried in the common grave will become a reality.

Join Elgin History Museum as we dedicate a granite memorial marker in memory of the remains buried in the common grave area in Bluff City Cemetery. A tree and bench will also be dedicated in memory of the late Steve Stroud. 

Cake and coffee will be served. Mayor Kaptain and Elgin’s Poet Lauriet Chasity Gunn will speak.