HOLLYWOOD PLANTATION CEMETERIES ASSOCIATION*
Preserving an important piece of Baton Rouge History
Scene from April 30, 2012 State Archeaologist Survey Update
There are only eight (8) Revolutionary War Soldiers buried in East Baton Rouge Parish. Virginia Militia Captain Abraham Bird Sr. is one. He is buried in a damaged grave. His descendants have been important contributors to the community. They include Mary Bird Perkins, and T. J. Bird, the first Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner to propose the creation of the LSU AgCenter.
Effective 27 Sep 2024, access to the Bird Family Cemetery is restricted. See details HERE.
We've earned the Candid Silver Seal!
Current Conditions at Cemetery
Our Plan for the Bird Cemetery
Our projects for this cemetery may include:
2024:
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Secure the cemetery to assure undisturbed reconstruction & place signs at the gate to provide info about HPCA and the cemetery. COMPLETED!
2025:
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Perform Ground-Penetrating Radar to locate all graves.
2026:
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Restore the tomb of Abraham Bird Sr.
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Reduce height of existing flat topped mound by about eight inches, if deemed practical by experts.
2027:
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Determine best location, then build new foundation for the monument for Abraham Bird Jr. & Mary Bowie and restore the monument.
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Determine best location and rebuild the monument for Mary Caroline Bird.
2028:
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Restore the graves of other family members as accurately as practical.
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Design & construct a durable information sign that includes a brief history of the plantation and cemetery and a listing of those interred.
2029:
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Create a trust or endowment to finance perpetual care of the cemetery, including lawn care.
Beyond:
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Continue efforts to find the Cemetery of the Enslaved.
Check out the NEW PAINTING below!
Our Vision for Bird Cemetery
HPCA commissioned Baton Rouge professional artist Betsy Neely to create our future vision of Bird Cemetery. Working with Betsy over several weeks was an absolute pleasure. Her ability to convert our ideas into this image is a testament to her patience, talent and work ethic!
The original painting - a meld of pen & ink and watercolor - is 16" x 20" and will be matted and framed to use at presentations, fundraisers, and other events. The point of view is the same as the photo above: looking toward the south southeast. As it was in the 19th Century, the little family cemetery still lies in the midst of a field one hundred years later! The existing chain link fence will remain for protection from cattle and other sources of potential damage, but the fence is intentionally excluded from the image in order to focus on the cemetery, and to emphasize the visionary aspect of the painting. The graves are shown partially exposed by "removing" some of the rectangular mound that currently exists. The original tomb and individual graves were all built to set the coffins above ground, because the water table is so near the surface. Historically, it is believed that the mound was initially installed by the Bird family as a reaction to flooding conditions perhaps before the Civil War. The mound is depicted about 24 inches above the land around it. This illustrates the concept of removing the soil, which was added to the site by LSU several decades ago. The primary reason for bringing the soil surface elevation down about 8 inches is to bring the cemetery back to what it looked like, while the Bird Family lived at Hollywood.
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The image displays new ledger slabs, repair and reassembly of the obelisk-style monument for Abraham Bird Jr. and his wife , Mary Bowie; repair of the marker for Mary Caroline Bird Daigre; as well as repair of the large tomb of Abraham Bird Sr. Placement of the obelisk and marker are for illustrative purposes only, as their original locations are unknown. Efforts will continue, however, to make their placement as logical as possible.
Our Vision
The vision of Hollywood Plantation Cemeteries Association is that the Hollywood Plantation Cemeteries are renovated and repaired in a manner, and to a level, agreed to by the Board of Directors, with input from the community; and to provide for the eternal care and maintenance of the cemeteries for future generations; and to provide the community with historical context, so that all who visit shall appreciate and revere the people, who are buried in these cemeteries as well as their historical contributions (both willing and unwilling).
Our Mission
To plan and execute, to the most reasonable extent possible, the security, renovation, repair, perpetual maintenance, and remembrance of the Hollywood Plantation Cemeteries and those buried there; and to provide information on the historical importance of these cemeteries to our community and to the larger community via the Internet.
OUR VISION & MISSION
STATEMENTS
Pieces of the obelisk monument of Abraham Bird Jr. and Mary Bowie, which have been gathered at the Bird Cemetery awaiting reassembly and repair.
In 2014, Emily Ford, who holds a M.S. degree in Historical Preservation. was contracted to perform an evaluation of the Bird Family Cemetery. From the existing scattered segments (seen in the photo above) she "reconstructed", in words, the monument for Abraham Bird Jr and his wife, Mary Bowie. This drawing puts an image to that description. Not including the top portion of the obelisk that is broken and missing, the structure would still be nine feet tall!
Existing Condition of Several Graves
