West Tampa residents push back on proposed land split at historic cemetery site

Aileen Henderson stood in a grassy patch beside the Marti-Colon Cemetery in West Tampa and pointed to what looked like open land. To her, its anything but empty.

When you see open fields like this at a cemetery, a lot of people dont understand because theres no markers. They assume that theres nothing there, Henderson said. Absolutely not. Typically, when you see an open field like this next to headstones, those are unmarked graves. Those are the people that didnt have the money for a marker.

Henderson is the founder of the Cemetery Society, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting Tampas historic burial grounds. She reached out because she wanted her community to know whats happening on land in Marti-Colon.

WATCH: West Tampa residents push back on proposed land split at historic cemetery si