Virginia group restores forgotten legacies, one tombstone at a time

(InvestigateTV) — Fourteen years ago, Dennis Bussey was just looking for someone to walk with. After a year and a half of hiking alone along the James River, he had an idea.
“I wish I could find someone who would go hiking with me,” Bussey recalled thinking.
He turned to the internet, and what started as a simple search for a companion has blossomed into a 5,000-member community with a unique and powerful mission.
His group, the “James River Hikers,” doesn’t just explore trails. They also uncover and restore history.

Their passion project lies within the quiet grounds of Richmond’s historic Shockoe Hill Cemetery, the final resting place for some of Virginia’s most significant figures.
Buried here are names, such as:
John Marshall, the nation’s fourth chief justice
Elizabeth Van Loo, a Union spy and abolitionist during the Civil War
Dr. William Foushee, the first mayor of Richmond
When the hikers first began their work, the stories of these individuals were hidden beneath layers of black grime, their headstones weathered and illegible.