THE TOWN of Petersburg was established in 1814. The town, in its entirety, is 1 square mile in size and surrounded by rolling farmland. Its quaint town square is a nod and fond reminder of the town’s past with its old buildings, but also a welcome to the future with the town’s modern improvements mixed with innovation. One could say she looks pretty good for a 211-year-old city.
Her upkeep is a full-time job and requires a joint effort of the town’s citizens. A part of that effort to keep Petersburg in tip-top shape is the Petersburg Lions Club. Established in 1945, the club’s motto is “We Serve.” They do so by providing eye exams and prescription glasses to those in need. They also serve by giving back to the community by donating to other civic-minded organizations.
One of their recent projects started with a well-intentioned cleanup of a historic cemetery located next to the Petersburgh Cumberland Presbyterian Church just off the town’s square. What emerged from the cleanup was a transformative glimpse into the town’s history and a restoration of that history to its rightful place.
The cemetery was in dire need of a cleanup. Lion Club member and vice president, Kevin Coffield, was aware of the care it needed. When he proposed the cleanup to the club, it was given the green light, and preparations began to organize a cleanup of the cemetery.
Coffield explained that the group made several interesting discoveries once the cleanup was underway.
“We started finding things,” said Coffield. “As we found things, we started digging. We found connections to WSM Radio out in Nashville. Graves of people who have ties all the way back to George Washington. You know, I figured we were going to do three or four months’ worth of cleaning, but it’s been a year and a half at least, and it’s not every month, but it’s pretty close that we find something interesting.”
He also added that the headstones have continued to unravel a plethora of stories.
“When Gene (Roberson) and I got involved with this, we were looking at cleaning headstones,” said Coffield. “That’s primarily what we’re going to do. However, we began to discover a lot more. We pulled out a tombstone with a Masonic symbol etched on it. I knew that the symbol wasn’t normal and could be a big deal. Come to find out, it was. The person was a leader of sorts, and this led us to researching the Masons and what part they play in all of this. That discovery was just one aspect of it, and there has just been so much more that we have learned.”
Coffield added that those discoveries were made possible by ground-penetrating radar (GPR) technology.
GPR is a noninvasive geo- physical method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. It transmits high-frequency radio waves into the ground to detect buried objects, voids, and material changes. Reflected signals help map underground features, and GPR is widely used in archaeology, construction, and environmental assessments. It provides real-time data and high-resolution imagery, making it a valuable tool for shallow subsurface investigations.
By contracting with ArchaeoSpatial Analytics, Claiborne Sea was able to use its GPR to bring discoveries to light that assisted Coffield, Roberson, and the Petersburg Lions Club in finding lost information.
LIONS CLUB IN ACTION
Though the cemetery restoration has become a long-term effort, the group remains active with various other community projects.
Roberson said the group is continually taking on projects that can last anywhere from a few months to a year or so.
“It depends on how the project unfolds,” he said. “Some projects last six months, others a year or even two or three. We’re a small organization — about 15 people — so our resources are limited, both financially and in manpower. Still, we’re committed to long-term efforts like vision conservation, collecting used eyeglasses, and providing professional eye exams. Beyond that, we take on projects that vary in length. One example is the cemetery project. Another was downtown revitalization. Petersburg saw investment and remodeling around the square, but the center was in poor shape. We initially proposed fixing a run-down gazebo that was located in the middle of town. That evolved into a full redesign. One of the investors helped us develop a plan, and it took nearly two years from concept to completion. We also organize annual events like the Petersburg tractor pull, which is one of our biggest projects each year.”
Roberson added that the pull raises anywhere from $15 to $20,000, allowing the club the resources to provide community support. It is an annual undertaking that requires an “all-in” approach from the group.
Roberson said the group is always looking for new members and welcomes folks from all backgrounds to join in and help keep the quaint city of Petersburg at its best for another 200-plus years.
“What we do depends on the needs of the community and what our group’s abilities are,” said Roberson. “As people come and go, our skills change. We used to have folks who were great at building things — now we’ve got people who can run construction equipment, some who are into local history, and even someone with a newspaper background. So, we just roll with what we’ve got.” GN
