When Interstate 81 was built, it tore through many communities, forcing them to relocate and rebuild. But the highway also blocked off the entrance to one cultural and educational hub.

You may not think a cemetery would fill that kind of role but that's how some visitors view Oakwood Cemetery. 

More than 150 years after its opening, members of Historic Oakwood Cemetery Preservation Association are uncovering some of the cemetery's past.  Hidden in plain sight, they found a piece of the cemetery's history.

"There's a hole in the ground we found. Come to find out it was the original burial vault. So we climbed down inside and here we have this burial vault where they stored caskets over the winter," said Karl Orlick, the founding board member of Historic Oakwood Cemetery Preservation Association.

Preservationists say when demand outweighed supply, they buried this vault and built a larger vault in the back of a chapel. Now the new vault is abandoned but expansion wasn't the cause. Preservationists say that was the fault of I-81. 

"Route 81, when put in in 1964, completely closed off the original entrance," said Orlick. 

The original entrance is now the back corner of the cemetery and members of H.O.C.P.A. say that makes it ripe for vandalism. One piece that still stands is the gate, it's part of the railroad track, and serves as a reminder of old times.

"There's always a sadness looking at the old gate and knowing what it had been at the time," said Paul Harvey, member of the Historic Oakwood Cemetery Preservation Association.

They find hope in the future of the cemetery and its revitalization thanks to community members and schools bringing it back to life.

Members of the Historic Oakwood Preservation Association say the chapel and the old office need considerable repairs, but they're hopeful for the future of the buildings and invite people to explore the more than 160 acres of landscaping. 

As for the future of I-81, that's still up in the air. The DOT and Federal Highway Administration will eventually decide on which option will move forward.