Area residents are invited to join Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield in observing National Public Lands Day, Sept. 24, to help clean some of the Pleasant Grove Cemetery headstones at Taylors Creek on Fort Stewart.

The installation, with the support of the National Environmental Education Foundation and the Department of Defense Legacy Resource Management Program, hopes to provide an educational opportunity for attendees to learn more about some of the area’s rich history.

According to installation records, http://www.stewart.army.mil/info/?id=510, after the establishment of Savannah in 1733, and the establishment of Fort Argyle, which was on the present day Fort Stewart, in Bryan County on the west bank of the Ogeechee River, colonists began to move inland. Communities like Taylors Creek began to appear shortly after in the 1760s. Near the mid-1800s the AME Church of Pleasant Grove was formed and soon became the site of community camp meetings.

Community members are invited out to learn more about Pleasant Grove and Taylors Creek, and help lend a hand in uncovering some of the area’s legacy.

The installation’s Cultural Resource Management Program of the Directorate of Public Works will be on-hand to provide information regarding the cemeteries and proper cleaning of historic headstones.

Sign up for the event begins at 9 a.m. Sept. 24 at the installation’s Pass and Permit Office, building 8093, on Highway 144.

Participants are invited to picnic onsite or purchase a MRE (Meal-Ready-to-Eat) for $5.55. A fifteen person van will be available to assist individuals without Privately Owned Vehicles; which may drive to the site separately or in convoy after signing in.

Please dress comfortably. Comfortable walking shoes are suggested. Participants may also wish to bring a bottle of water and insect repellent. For your convenience, a Port-a-Potty and hand washing station will be located at Pleasant Grove.

For more information, call Public Affairs at 912-435-9872 or Cultural Resource Management at 912-767-0992.