Draft #2There was a time, when the vibrant and growing city of Birmingham did not exist, when there are only a few remaining landmarks that predate the founding of the Magic City. An often overlooked one is Elyton Cemetery. As Birmingham's oldest cemetery, it holds a lot of history. But the question remains: does it also contain a priceless work by the most famous artist to have worked in Birmingham? Its history begins in 1821, fifty years before the city was officially founded. This was the year the government granted a tract of land to the American Asylum for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb, located in Connecticut. William Ely, attorney for the Asylum, negotiated the sale of 40 acres of the property to Colonel John M. Dupuy. This was the year the town of Elyton was founded, a nod to the lawyer who negotiated the original sale. Dupuy owned this property for over thirty years until 1853, when he sold twenty-five of those acres in one deed to Mitchell T. Porter except, as is noted, "one acre including the cemetery near the east end." Even if there is no precise year for the establishment of the cemetery, it is assumed that it took place in that twenty years. Although most headstones have since become indecipherable, the oldest marked grave dates back to the year 1834, that of Mrs. Nancy E. Scott. Three years later, in 1856, Porter granted Joseph R Smith twelve of those acres, all except "one acre in the cemetery" which had apparently been set aside for the town of Elyton by Colonel Dupuy. However, the cemetery quickly fell into disrepair. In 1891, a group raised $450 for cleanup efforts. Until 1965, there were three more cleanup efforts and, as can be seen today, they were never eff... half paper... am, since it merged with Elyton in 1871. Since this was In this case , the question arises as to who could have ordered the commission of the girl who laughed. It seems more likely that the statue was commissioned in the cemetery's early years, before it became dilapidated. Regardless of whether the laughter was indeed the work of the esteemed Moretti, it remains the larger issue that has been a cause for concern for over a decade a hundred years, the same one that troubled concerned citizens in 1965. Elyton Cemetery is one of the last relics remained in Birmingham preceding his birth. Even though the laughing girl was ultimately destroyed, it is not too late to restore the cemetery. As one citizen was quoted in 1956, “there is so little left of the past generation in Birmingham that we should do what we can to preserve it.” I think this still applies today.