Now, volunteers are uncovering a rich history as they work to restore the cemetery in Glen Mills.
"I always try to be a part of anything they have pertaining to the history of my great-grandfather," said church member Dorothea Johnson.
She's talking about a history that's somewhere in a Glen Mills cemetery.
"My great-grandfather is buried out here," she said.
The history is being uncovered one brush stroke at a time.
Beneath the moss are the legacies of heroes.
The individuals buried in the cemetery served in the military during the Civil War.
Among them are a few of a very rare group: the U.S. Colored Troops who served in the Union Army during the Civil War.
"In the American Civil War, between 1863 and 1865, there were over 160 regiments of colored troops that served in the Civil War at a critical time, when we were running out of manpower," said volunteer Tony Shanhan.
These hallowed grounds are next to Thornbury AME church in Glen Mills.
"We have been here since 1840," said Rev. Angela Baker.
The cemetery was once a place not just to bury the dead but to celebrate life.
"This was a beautiful cemetery at one time," said church member Leila Johnson.
But over the years it fell into disrepair, and the overgrowth became an invitation for vandals.
"That headstone was broken, kicked in," said Rev. Baker. "Those lights were smashed. What gratification could you get from that?"
"I don't understand why people would want to steal somebody's headstone. It's terrible," added Leila Johnson.
Now is a chance to make it right.
After Tony Shahan did a thesis and lecture on the US Colored Troops, the pastor of Thornbury heard that lecture and made a plea.
"Rev. Baker made an announcement about some of the problems they'd been having with vandalism and maintaining the cemetery," Shahan explained.
So, this group of volunteers from several churches and organizations stepped in to help.
"God turned it into good, because here we are out here with a community today," Rev. Baker said.
"It's the neighborhood. When they see something that needs to be done, they chip right in," said Andrew K. Alexander.
They are creating bonds while fixing the damage and unveiling long-forgotten graves.
The goal is to continue the improvements and archive each resting place so that no one, ever again, forgets that heroes lie here.
"They are here and we are making sure that their name and legacy, their story, will never be forgotten," Rev. Baker said.