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LINCOLNVILLE, SC (WCSC) - Military families are rallying to preserve an abandoned Lincolnville cemetery with veterans buried from World War I and World War II.

There are also veterans buried dating back to the 1800s.

The cemetery is tucked behind the woods off of Lincolnville near Greenwood Street.

Disabled Veteran Shirley Zinn has been on a mission since 2015 to protect the property and find out who is buried there.

"This angers me. These people are forgotten. How many stones out here say 'gone but never forgotten.' This is forgotten," Zinn said.

For the past few years she along with others have placed flags by the graves of veterans for Memorial Day.

The property has not been maintained so several markers have been covered and it's difficult to walk through the grave site because the grass and plants are overgrown.

"Honestly our veterans need to be honored. We need to have stones where they lay," Zinn said.

Zinn says at least 15 grave markers are gone since her first visit a few years ago.

While at the site she uncovered one today.

"They're not in here or they're so deeply buried we can't find them," Zinn said.

Leaders of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3433 in Ladson are helping to preserve the cemetery.

They have a vision of transforming the space.

"Make it into a park where people can come out and visit their loved ones," said Junior Vice Commander of the VFW Post 3433, Robert Zdenek.

They're asking for help in restoring the property because there is a large amount of work to do.

"For them to be forgotten completely and literally just thrown to the rubble the way this place has been maintained is totally unacceptable," said Commander of the VFW Post 3433 Todd Howard.

The cemetery backs up to the Lakes of Summerville. There's a fence that separates them.

"They deserve to be remembered for their lives for what they've done, not only the veterans but the other people who are buried here as well," District 1 Commander for the VFW Department of South Carolina Edwin Tufts said.

Zinn says in 2015 she counted 27 non-military people buried there and about 21 World War I and World War II veterans buried there.

"If you put on that uniform, no matter what uniform it was, you honored our country and we deserve to honor you back," Zinn said.

The group will attend the Lincolnville Town Hall Meeting next Wednesday at 7 p.m. to make town officials aware of the conditions of the cemetery in hopes of getting help to maintain it.

If you'd like to help with the efforts you can reach the Junior Vice Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3433 at 843-568-6811.

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LINCOLNVILLE, S.C. (WCIV) -{}Tyrone Aiken and James C. Hampton will return to public service once again for the town of Lincolnville. Unofficial vote tallies show the two men edged out{}Anna Williams-Gleaton for the two open seats in Tuesday's election.When the votes are certified, the failsafe and provisional ballots will be counted.{}The Lincolnville Public Safety building was turned on Tuesday into an election precinct. The small town held a special election to fill two vacant town council seats.Williams-Gleaton served on town council for 11 years."There's a lot of work that needs to be done," said Williams-Gleaton when asked why she wanted to run again. "If you drive around the village, you can see the streets, we have several streets that's still not paved. We still have a lot of debris on the streets."Streets were one of Williams-Gleaton's main focuses when she was on council. She says, if elected, her goals would be, "to see all of the streets paved. To see us get proper drainage in here."Williams-Gleaton was born and raised in Lincolnville, much like Tyrone Aiken."Lived here all my life. Raised my children here. So, I'm very fond of Lincolnville," said Aiken.Aiken says he began public service at age 27. He served as mayor of Lincolnville for 14 years and as councilman for 14 years. Aiken says he still has work to complete for the town."I think there's some unfinished business that I didn't complete," said Aiken. "We talked about getting an increase in our water pressure and getting a water tank when I was mayor. It didn't happen. We started some sidewalk construction, we didn't complete it."Hampton wasn't born in Lincolnville, but certainly calls the small town home."I have been living in Lincolnville for about 40 years," said Hampton. "I was in the Air Force and, while in the Air Force, built a house here in Lincolnville."After rallying for better fire equipment and resources, Hampton became the Lincolnville Fire Chief, then served as a councilman for nearly 30 years."With 28 years experience, I would be remiss if I didn't come back on to try to assist the mayor and council to serve the citizens and town," Hampton said.

As the world focuses on Black History Month during February, every day in Lincolnville is a celebration of black excellence and history. The parcels of land that sit on the border of Charleston and Dorchester counties as the nucleus of surrounding Summerville and Ladson subdivisions are an extraordinary gem of American history.

Like the pristine waters of the ebbing and flowing creeks from the Ashley River through Lincolnville, the town’s journey travels through many eras of American history. The Charleston-Hamburg Railway was the world’s longest track of rail (136 miles) when it was completed in 1833. The railway ran through Pump Pond, which would be renamed “Lincolnville” by Bishop Richard Harvey Cain 34 years later. On Oct. 3, 1832, these rail tracks carried the first steam engine locomotive as well as the first passenger train in America. The train ran from Line Street in Charleston to Summerville. The history of the innovative pre-Civil War railway system can be heard thundering through Lincolnville four times daily 191 years later.

The Charleston-Hamburg Railway was central to the growth of South Carolina’s economy in the 1800s, and vital transportation for the Confederate Army during the Civil War. No doubt the builders of these tracks and locomotive operators were enslaved men who perhaps lay at rest in Lincolnville’s historic cemeteries, Bible Sojourn and Hamburg cemeteries.

Lincolnville was founded in 1867, two years after the Civil War ended and the beginning of the Reconstruction era, and was incorporated in 1887, making it one of the oldest African American towns in South Carolina. The town’s founder, Bishop Cain, was among the first African Americans from South Carolina elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, in 1872.

It would be 98 years later, during the civil rights era in 1970, when Herbert U. Fielding became the first African American elected to the S.C. House of Representative since the Reconstruction era. Fielding, a son of Julius and Sadie Fielding, spent many of his childhood days at his family home in Lincolnville where his father, founder of Fielding Home for Funerals in Charleston, had purchased land and built a home. Located on the corner of Dunmeyer Hill Road and Lincoln Avenue (across from the Community Garden), the Fielding residence was the gathering place for many strategic meetings hosted by Herbert Fielding for S.C. Democratic Party members. Among them was a young James E. Clyburn, who is now assistant Democratic leader in the U.S. House.

One of the many crown jewels of history in Lincolnville is the Rosenwald School, now operating as the Charles Ross Municipal Building at 141 W. Broad Street. Julius Rosenwald, son of a German immigrant who rose to become president of Sears & Roebuck in 1908, partnered with his friend Booker T. Washington, founding president of Tuskegee University, to build schools throughout the South for African American children.

During the Jim Crow era, education was not provided for African American children in the rural South. Rosenwald provided funds for more than 5,357 school buildings, including Lincolnville Elementary School, which was built in 1923.

Black history is Lincolnville. For more information, visit lincolnvillesc.org.

Pernessa C. Seele founded the Lincolnville Preservation & Historical Society and works to raise awareness about the town's unique history.

Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings.

The Lincolnville Elementary School bell rang through the main auditorium for the first time since 1969.

On June 29, a historical marker was dedicated at the Lincolnville Town Office to commemorate the Lincolnville Elementary School, located at the same building from 1924 to 1969.

Former students, staff, administrators and city government officials flocked to the event. Pictures were displayed, stories were told and memories were shared. The glee club even reunited to sing “Every Time I Feel the Spirit.”

Former Principal Eugene Willis said that it was an honor to see all of his students return to honor their former school and take pride in it.

Lincolnville School was one of over 5,000 schools built by the Rosenwald Foundation, established by Julius Rosenwald, part owner of the Sears, Roebuck, and Company. His mission was to build schools for African-American children across the South.

Construction was completed in 1924 for $6,100, and the local school was the area's first public school for African-American children. Four teachers taught first through eighth grade until 1953, when it was expanded to Lincolnville Elementary School; afterward the school only offered grades first through seventh. The facility closed in 1969 after the desegregation of Charleston County Schools.

In 2008, an effort commenced to try and preserve the school, and the Lincolnville Elementary School Alumni Foundation was established to meet that goal. In November, the foundation focused on securing a historical marker and received donations for the project from alumni who had moved as far away as Sweden.

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“People should always remember their roots and heritage and take pride in it and pass it from generation to generation,” said Anna Ruth Williams Gleaton, chairperson of the foundation.

Gleaton was happy to see the marker finally in place.

“It is just so wonderful to see it,” she said. “I know our parents would be so proud of us.”

Fellow alumnus Christine Hampton also marveled at the large number of former students who returned for the dedication.

In addition to the $2,200 price tag for the marker, a large project cost was landscaping improvements on the property, which alumni also helped fund.

Charles Duberry, Lincolnville mayor and former Lincolnville Elementary School student, said that they are all one big family and thanked all community members for turning the foundation's dream into a reality.

Rosalee Washington, who attended the school and later returned to teach, said she believes the marker will now keep the school's legacy alive.

Two men face weapons violations after an officer-involved shooting left one of the suspects wounded during a traffic stop Saturday near Lincolnville, according to the Charleston County Sheriff's Office.

Detectives identified the driver of the vehicle, who was wounded by gunfire, as William Gantt Steeley, 23, of Summerville.

Steeley and a passenger, Kenneth V. Harrelson, 34, of Bowman face charges of unlawful possession of a sawed-off shotgun, Sheriff's Lt. Rita Zelinsky said.

State agents also had an arrest warrant for Steeley for failing to abide by the terms of his parole last year in connection with a series of car break-ins, said Pete O'Boyle, a spokesman for the state Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. He had been charged with more than a dozen auto break-ins in Summerville and later convicted on five counts as a youthful offender, state records show.

The officer involved in the shooting is Deputy Preston Capers, who has been with the sheriff's office since 2013, Zelinsky said. Capers is on paid administrative leave while the State Law Enforcement Division investigates the episode, which is standard protocol, she said.

Capers had previously been placed on leave last year after his arrest on a domestic violence charge in which he was accused of pressing his wife into a wall. He underwent anger management counseling and returned to work three weeks later after his wife requested that the charge be dropped, sheriff's officials have said. Capers completed a one-year probationary period at the agency in May.

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Saturday's shooting happened around 8:45 a.m. on Fiddie Street, which is located in unincorporated Charleston County outside of Lincolnville, authorities said.

Capers stopped a vehicle but the driver stepped out and confronted the deputy, according to SLED spokesman Thom Berry. The driver had a weapon and refused to comply with the deputy’s orders, he said.

After some time, Capers opened fire and struck the suspect, Berry said.

The driver, Steeley, fled on foot but was apprehended a short time later and transported to Trident Medical Center suffering serious injuries, the Sheriff’s Office stated.

Neither Harrelson nor the deputy was injured during the shooting, the Sheriff’s Office stated.

Bail was set at $5,000 for Harrelson, who is on probation for receiving stolen goods. Steeley has not yet had a bond hearing, Zelinsky said.

The shooting was the 22nd such incident for 2018 in South Carolina compared to 49 overall last year, Berry said.