NATCHEZ — Two years ago, the Watkins Street Cemetery, a historically black resting place, was a mess.

The grass on the grounds was uncut, trees had been allowed to grow unfettered for 40 years and in one section of the cemetery tombstones could only be seen peeking from underwater.

The Worthy Women of Watkins Street Cemetery will have a fundraiser at 2 p.m. today at the Natchez Association for the preservation of African-American Culture Museum to try to ensure the cemetery doesn’t fall into that condition again.

Now, the grass is still tall, but tombstones are visible and many of the scrub trees that grew up among the graves have been cleared out. Volunteers have done some work to encourage drainage, and an effort to catalogue all of the graves is currently underway.

Though there is still a lot of work to be done, Thelma White, the president of Worthy Women of Watkins Street Cemetery Association, is proud to see the progress that has been made.

“It is beginning to look like a cemetery should,” she said.

The Worthy Women of Watkins Street Cemetery Association was started in 2005 after several local women saw the condition of the 98-year-old cemetery.

Ten black citizens originally bought the land the cemetery is located on to provide a place for the burial of blacks other than in churchyards or the city cemetery.

“Each family was supposed to take care of their plots, but people died and moved away, and so as a result you didn’t see care over the cemetery,” White said. “Many of the nice tombstones were not accessible.”

When the group found out that the state department considered the land’s ownership inactive, the group “just took over” and took action, White said.

“Our goal was to make it available and accessible so people could go out there and find their relatives,” she said.

Today’s fundraiser will feature a historical program, which will be recorded, White said.

While the group appreciates any donation of money, they also need weedeaters and lawnmowers, White said.

“Of course, we always need labor donations, too,” she said.