Harrisonburg City Council has awarded Newtown Cemetery $29,000 to spruce up the historically African-American cemetery in the Friendly City.

Among those buried at the nearly 150-year-old site are educator Lucy Simms and also Elon Rhodes, the first African-American to serve on the city council.

The decision to give funding was after a 3-to-2 vote by the city council.

Newtown Cemetery is a Virginia Historic Landmark and on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Mayor Chris Jones said tourists and history buffs will only be drawn more to the city once this project is complete.

"By beautifying this area, we want to be able to present Harrisonburg in the best light and so we found that it would be necessary to use city resources to help this area to move it forward," said Jones.

The work will include some paving and landscaping. Funding should be available by this summer, but there is not an exact time table for the project.