MATTHEWS, N.C. -- In the town of Matthews lies the historic Crestdale Neighborhood.

“This is the place where primarily African Americans lived," says Harvey Boyd.

Boyd lives in the home his parents built there 75 years ago, and remembers what the area use to be like as a kid.

“We knew everybody," he says. "Everybody knew us. Not only did we know Black people, but we knew white people too. So they grew up in a distance from each other.”

That same separation also applied to the cemeteries in town.

“When I was a kid, I remember riding on the back of one of those horses or those buggies and I remember going on Monroe Road and saying, 'wow this is quite a ways away from where we live,'" says Boyd.

Monroe Road looks a lot different now along with the Roseland Cemetery that Harvey use to go to.

The cemetery is located in a wooded area behind new apartments being built, and it’s hardly recognizable.

“These are the people who probably helped build Matthews, because they were one of the first residents of Matthews," says Boyd.

Now it’s hard to tell who’s even buried at this cemetery.

“We don’t have a list," says Paula Lester. "We believe that there’s between 70 and 75 people buried in that cemetery.”

Lester is the historian for the Matthews Historical Foundation and for years has worked to learn the history of the cemetery and has tried to improve it.

“People have called over the years and said, 'I belong to such and such with, we’d like to come and clean it up', but when you don’t own the property, you just can’t walk through people’s property and decide you are going to do things," she says.

The cemetery is now owned by Taft Development who is building the apartments in front of it. They plan to help preserve the cemetery and build a fence around it.

Paula is urging people who have information to reach out so they can help identify those who are buried there and build a database.

“We would really appreciate knowing the names and birth and death dates if they know that," says Lester.

Harvey’s great grandmother and other family members are currently buried there, and his hope is that soon they’ll not only clean up the cemetery, but the town will have more stories of African Americans to preserve.

“That story needs to include African Americans and to show how Black lives do matter and how it all connects with we built this place," he says.

Those who have information about those buried at the cemetery can email information to the historical foundation at info@matthewsheritagemuseum.org or call the Matthews Heritage Museum at 704-708-4996.