BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PILGRIM — Martin County Judge/Executive Lon Lafferty announced last week that the landowner will remove gates blocking access to family cemeteries in Pilgrim. The move restores entry for families who had been shut out for months from visiting their loved ones’ graves.
The land in question is under lease to Appalachian Legacy, a nonprofit horse rescue that residents said erected the gates. Families told the Fiscal Court in August that the closure had prevented elderly relatives from visiting graves and even interfered with an ambulance call July 4.
Resident Minnie Maynard said her 78-year-old mother had been unable to visit her mother’s grave since Easter. Another resident, Jessica Preece, described having to haul her mother home on a side-by-side during a medical emergency because gates blocked the only ambulance access.
During the Aug. 21 Fiscal Court meeting, Lafferty promised an investigation, telling residents that “no one has a right to put a gate on a county road.” On Sept. 3, he issued a statement saying the inquiry determined the road is not a county road.
“That determination did not change the fact that many residents were suffering from being denied the right to visit the graves of their loved ones,” Lafferty said. “More needed to be done.”
According to Lafferty, discussions with Pocahontas Land Corporation, the property owner, led to an agreement to tear down all gates and restore access immediately. He praised the company as “a good corporate neighbor.” He also thanked County Attorney Melissa Phelps and members of the Fiscal Court for supporting the effort.
“We are a welcoming and loving people here in Martin County,” said Lafferty. “But right is right — and when necessary, we will all stand together.”
Lafferty expects the resolution to provide relief for families who questioned Appalachian Legacy’s authority to control access. Some accused the organization of not containing the horses while raising money online and cutting off traditional cemetery visits.
“Appalachian Legacy is flooding social media with derogatory comments about people from Martin County,” Preece said in the Fiscal Court meeting.
Families expressed hope that the agreement would bring an end to the conflict and provide permanent protection of their right to access.