The Wake Forest Cemetery Advisory Board will sponsor its annual historic walking tour at the Wake Forest Cemetery on Saturday, May 11, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The cemetery is located at 400 North White Street.
Free and open to the public, the self-guided tour will celebrate the lives of the men and women who established the Wake Forest community, as well as its culture and destiny.
Docents will be stationed at various locations throughout the cemetery to share interesting stories about specific gravesites, as well as photographs of loved ones bearing their ancestral names.
Parents are encouraged to bring their children to the tour as a special handout will be provided highlighting interesting points of interest throughout the cemetery grounds. Designed to promote healthy interaction between a child and their parents or accompanying adult, the photos and sites highlighted in the handout will help educate visitors about the cemetery’s historical significance.
Limited parking will be permitted in designated areas of the cemetery. Overflow parking will be available at Feggins Funeral Home, 430 North White Street, Olive Branch Baptist Church, 326 East Juniper Avenue, and along North Taylor Street and East Walnut Avenue
Android and iPhone users can have a handy pocket guide to the Cemetery Walking Tour by downloading the Town of Wake Forest app and using the app’s “Wake Forest Cemetery Tour” function. Offering smartphone users instant access to important details about the cemetery tour, the function also includes a link to the cemetery virtual tour.
IPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and Android users can download the free app by searching for “Town of Wake Forest” on iTunes, in the iPhone app store, or in Google Play or by scanning the appropriate QR code. For more information, visit wakeforestnc.gov and search “Town App.”
In case of inclement weather, updated information about the tour will be provided on the Town’s Facebook page and by calling the Wake Forest Weather Line at 919-435-9569. Smart phone users who have downloaded the Town of Wake Forest app will receive a push notification message informing them of any schedule changes. In the event of rain, the tour may be rescheduled for Saturday, May 18.
Area residents are also invited to visit the Town’s website and view the Wake Forest Cemetery Virtual Tour. The virtual tour provides users a unique historical perspective of the cemetery through the use of a laptop, tablet or smartphone.
Offering an aerial view of the Wake Forest Cemetery, the interactive application shows red icons denoting notable and historic gravesites, including burial locations for Samuel Wait, the first president of Wake Forest College; Thomas Joseph Byrne, New York Yankees pitcher and Wake Forest mayor; and Sophie Lanneau, member of the first graduating class at Meredith College and Baptist missionary to China. Simply by clicking on one of the red icons, visitors can learn where a historical figure is buried, gain fascinating insight about the person by reading a brief bio, and – in most cases – view their picture.
For more information about the 2019 Historic Wake Forest Cemetery Walking Tour and to access the virtual tour, visit wakeforestnc.gov and search “Cemetery Tour” or contact Betty Pearce at 919-435-9570 or bpearce@wakeforestnc.gov<mailto:bpearce@wakeforestnc.gov>.
