John N Smith Cemetery
Site Brief:
Founded: 1880
Location: Southport, NC
Additional name(s): None
Affiliate group(s):
John N Smith Cemetery Restoration and Preservation Inc
History:
The John N Smith Cemetery was established in 1880 when land was sold to the CME Church for the sole purpose to have a permanent cemetery for the African American community of Southport, NC. During the 1870's the 2 acre site, within the Gullah Geechee Corridor, was an unofficial burial grounds. The earliest marked gravesite is the one for John N Smith. Buried here are people who experienced slavery, reconstruction, Jim Crow and the Civil Rights movement. Veterans of every US War from the Civil War through the Gulf Wars are buried here, including Buffalo soldiers. People from all occupations: fishermen, farmers, teachers, merchants, nurses, domestic workers, firemen, police officers and civil rights workers as well as their children are buried here. In 1949, the five local Black Churches, purchased an additional 1.5 acres. It is the largest Black Cemetery in Brunswick County. The exact number of persons interred is not precisely known. In addition to the approximate 500 markers, a GPR study identified 1243 unmarked gravesites. The entire Cemetery is owned, managed and maintained by a non-profit, 501c3, the John N Smith Cemetery Restoration and Preservation Inc. This organization utilizes the Cemetery as a public education venue (an outdoor museum created in 2021) to teach the real history about the positive community contributions of those buried there and the challenges they confronted as a result of bigotry, violence and discrimination. In 2021, the Cemetery was designated and now listed on the National Park Service Registry of Historic Places.
