The cemetery was found to be overgrown and neglected in 2010. The overgrowth made it hard to distinguish any markers. The history of the cemetery goes back to 1873 when Jeremiah Mannie Jackson (1816 – 1912) purchased 184 acres from Ansel and Mary Wheedon of Vermont in the Sideburn/Burke area. Jeremiah (Jerry) and his wife Martha farmed the land and had eleven children. Martha inherited the land upon the death of her husband. When Martha died at the age of 103 in 1930, the Fairfax Herald newspaper related, “’Aunt’ Martha Jackson, one of the the oldest and most highly respected colored residents of the county died yesterday. . . ‘Aunt’ Martha had spent many years of her long life at Sideburn and had the friendship of her white neighbors for many of whom she had worked.” At Martha’s death, ninety acres remained of the original purchase and were divided among her surviving children, exempting the cemetery. Today the cemetery is located next to the Burke Presbyterian Church in Burke Centre.
