It’s a pretty ease process to add something to Google Maps but it can be rather difficult to demonstrate some random spot in the woods is a place of some significance. It is with some sense of pride and accomplishment that I have added Swartwood Cemetery back on the map. This cemetery had long been off the map, its graves had long been left untended. Using the details available and with some lingering photographs, I had an idea of what to look for as I ventured out into the hills across Route 209 from the Valley View campground. Using the AllTrails app I recorded my trail and I marked my GPS coordinates upon arrival.

I place that has been long forgotten and/or overlooked has been reclaimed through research, tracking, sharing knowledge and a little bit of activism. How can you reclaim a place? Research. Identification. And education.