APOPKA, Fla. – Just off Plymouth-Sorrento Road in Apopka lies a piece of local history that’s been buried by more than just time.
If not for a lone sign marking its entrance, it would be difficult to tell Bay Ridge is even a cemetery. It’s overgrown and neglected, and some Apopkans believe that’s a disservice to the people who are buried there.
“I’ve kind of cleared a path that’s spider web free,” said Bridget Tarassenko, walking with a stick in hand as she guided News 6 through the property.
Tarassenko, a local history buff, has been coming to Bay Ridge Cemetery for years — first out of curiosity, now out of concern.
“I wouldn’t want to see my ancestors like this,” she said. “Every cemetery in Apopka and Zellwood is clean and nice and walkable, but this one is left behind.”
Weeds and thick brush have blanketed the property, which dates back to the 1800s, for years. Roughly 100 people are buried there, including veterans and some of the earliest settlers of Apopka.
“We have roads named after them,” Tarassenko said. “Shopke, Shopke-Lester, so they had some kind of importance (in Apopka) for streets to be named after them.”
Through a records search, News 6 was able to locate the property owner, but they haven’t responded to repeated calls for comment. Tarassenko says getting in touch with them has been a challenge for years.
Despite not owning the land, the city of Apopka is aware of the site’s condition. A spokesperson for the mayor’s office confirmed maintenance crews would eventually be sent out with a bushwhacker, but locals are looking for a more permanent solution.
“I would like the city to come up and say, ‘We’ll take it over. We’ll clean it up. We’ll get it where it should be,’” Tarassenko explained. “Organize it once a month or every six months and clean it up and make it look like a cemetery.”
With no clear responsibility for the upkeep, the cemetery remains in limbo — and Tarassenko says she’s growing weary.
“Every time I come out here, it’s like do I give up?” she said. “I don’t want to, but it comes to that point.”
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