Blueprint Approves New Hope Community Historical Survey

The Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency (IA) held a meeting on December 8th, in which the board unanimously approved an expanded historical survey related to the New Hope Cemetery. The cemetery has been identified as a part of the Northeast Gateway Cultural Survey Project.

The expanded survey will include engagement with experts in the areas of history, interpretive writing, and records management to research, identify, document, and archive the historic context and stories of the New Hope community. The expanded survey is beyond the regulatory requirements of the project which was approved by the IA Board in their action on March 12, 2020.

Gloria Anderson, who has been working with the board in regards to the New Hope Community since 2019, spoke at the meeting. Ms. Anderson expressed how grateful that the she and the community had been after coming upon the cemetery back in 2019. Anderson stated, “The doors of heaven had opened up and we had found a gold mine.” Ms. Anderson also invited the whole city to celebrate the memorial occasion after the completion of the studies and the burial site has been cleared.

The boundaries of the New Hope Cemetery were extended as a result of the survey which took place in 2020 and 2021. The initial PD&E study focused on the areas impacted by the construction of the Northeast Gateway project,

The upcoming survey for the New Hope Community will take approximately 9-12 months and will cost $75,000.