SUNSET MEMORIAL CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1917

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S):

• City of Jacksonville (COJ) Parks and Recreation Department

• COJ Public Works Department

HISTORY:

Sunset Memorial Cemetery is an historic African American Cemetery in the northwest part of Duval County, Florida. Sunset Memorial Cemetery is surrounded by commercial uses along Edgewood Avenue West, Memorial Cemetery directly across Moncrief Road and a mixture of commercial, residential and institutional uses to the north. The cemetery was established in 1917 by the Memorial Cemetery Association, although it was never platted and may have been used for burials as early as 1909. The cemetery is affiliated with the Afro American Life Insurance Company, which was instrumental in fulfilling an unmet need of additional burial options for Jacksonville’s black community. The cemetery is a total of 6.25 acres in size and contains 1,125 grave markers, and it was used for burials up until the late 1990s, with the last recorded burial in 1997.

The African-Americans buried at Sunset Memorial were predominantly middle class and working class citizens, although prominent black citizens, including Abraham Lincoln Lewis, founder of the Afro American Life Insurance Company, are also buried here. The most common monuments and markers found at the cemetery include headstones of various styles (499), flat lid and curved vault lids (71), variations of pillows stones (66) and ground tablets (38). Two prominent mausoleums, the Craddock and Langley mausoleums, are situated near the main entrance of the cemetery. Other styles which are found in much less number, include bedstead, bedstead pillow, footstones and funeral plaques. Materials include predominately marble (335), concrete (235) and granite (85). There are 233 military graves including three piles of military headstones never placed. Several additional unmarked graves are also present at the cemetery due to weathering, deterioration, neglect, and vandalism that has taken place over time, although a precise number of these unmarked graves is not known.

BCN Contact Information:

Andrew Mueller

Archives Specialist, Historic Preservation Section

AMueller@coj.net

OLD MT. HERMAN CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1880

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S):

• City of Jacksonville (COJ) Parks and Recreation Department

• COJ Public Works Department

HISTORY:

Old Mt. Herman Cemetery is one of the oldest African-American cemeteries in Jacksonville. In the present day only vestiges of the cemetery still exist. Almost all of the grave markers have either deteriorated or have been removed, as the property it lies on was converted into a community park and center (Emmett Reed Center) in the late1960s. The cemetery was developed as a plot about the size of 12.5 acres around 1880 to serve the growing black population of LaVilla, Brooklyn, New Town, and Durkeeville, Jacksonville suburbs located just north and west of the city core where many of the emancipated enslaved first settled following the Civil War. Old Mt. Herman cemetery served as the primary local cemetery for African-Americans until the first decade of the 20th century, when additional cemeteries in the areas of Moncrief Road and Edgewood Avenue were established.

Due to inconsistent record-keeping, poor maintenance and preservation, and the conversion of the cemetery into a park and community center, the total number buried at Old Mt. Herman cemetery is unknown, with even an estimation being difficult to make. One well-preserved marker and monument lies on the sidewalk at the perimeter of the park. The marker belongs to Thompson Williams, a black man who reportedly gave his own life in October 1908 protecting the honor and dignity of a white woman. An 1898 Florida Times-Union index lists a total of 113 in that year that were buried at the cemetery. The 1899 Florida Times-Union lists only 18 buried that year. The cemetery discontinued being used for burials at some point in the early to mid 20th century, and the lot became overgrown with weeds and suffered from years of neglect. The development of the Emmett Reed Center, ironically, uncovered many of the still existing headstones. However, almost of these were removed in order to develop the community center and park grounds. One notable exception that was left undisturbed is the Fagins family lot at the southeast corner of the park. Fragments of other markers are scattered around the park and community center in the less frequented areas.

BCN Contact Information:

Andrew Mueller

Archives Specialist, Historic Preservation Section

AMueller@coj.net

PINE STREET AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND

FOUNDED: 1750

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S):

• Harambee Kingston NY, Inc.

HISTORY:

The Pine Street African Burial Ground (PSABG) is an historic site that since its closing in mid-1800's did not receive official acknowledgment or respect prior to its purchase and protection in 2019 through the partnership of Harambee Kingston NY, Inc, the Kingston Land Trust, Inc. and in collaboration with Scenic Hudson. The Pine Street African Burial Ground is located at 157 Pine Street, Kingston, NY 12414. Kingston, NY was the original Capital of New York State prior to moving the Capital to Albany, NY. The History of the Pine Street African Burial Ground dates back to 1750 when the trustees of Kingston identified and area outside the walled settlement of Kingston (formally Wiltwyck) to be used as a "burial ground" for enslaved Africans and freed African Americans. Enslaved Africans and freed African American are historically noted in the Historical archives of Kingston, NY. Harambee Kingston NY, Inc. is the owner and steward of this sacred site. Prior to acquiring the right of ownership, the "burial ground" did not have any above round markers or headstones and had been used as an lumberyard and eventually a residential property with the unmarked "burial ground" as a residential backyard. Beginning in 2022, Harambee Kingston NY in partnership with SUNY New Paltz department of Archaeology has conducted 3 excavations to confirm the burial of over 23 humans remains so far.

BCN Contact Information:

Harambee Kingston NY, Inc.

info@harambeekingstonny.org

LAKE MAUDE CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1924

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S):

• Florence Villa Community Association (FVCA)

HISTORY:

Lake Maude Cemetery (LMC) is the oldest African American burial grounds in Winter Haven, FL. Local historic figures as well as common folk have been laid to rest in the cemetery. The grounds are in need of locating and identification of unmarked gravesites; cleaning and repair of tombstones and other grave coverings/ markings; and, clearing top soil and brush to reveal grave sites. Records suggest that some human remains were laid to rest in cemetery driveways once the cemetery plots were exhausted. The impact of FVCA (Florence Villa Comm Assoc) commitment to revitalize the cemetery is far reaching as citizens of Winter Haven and those from afar will be able to visit marked graves of those long passed on. The burial grounds will be transformed from an eye sore to a place of solace.

BCN Contact Information:

Robert Frazier

fvcainc2016@gmail.com

THOMAS SMITH CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1902

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S):

• Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band

HISTORY:

The Thomas Smith Cemetery is a Creek Freedmen cemetery that originated in 1902 when its namesake, Thomas Smith, donated the land as a cemetery. It is in the northwest section of Wagoner County, approximately one and a half miles east of the Tulsa County line, and approximately 1.33 miles from two Creek Turnpike entrances to the east. The cemetery lies north of the City of Broken Arrow city limits and roughly seven miles from downtown Broken Arrow. The Thomas Smith Cemetery’s historic period of significance is from circa 1902 to1974. As an active cemetery, this period reflects its origination as a cemetery for the surrounding community to the fifty-year threshold for the National Register of Historic Places as an active Muscogee (Creek) Freedmen Cemetery.

BCN Contact Information:

Rhonda Grayson

mcifb@1866creekfreedmen.com

www.1866creekfreedmen.com

OLD AGENCY CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1858

ADDITONAL NAMES: Union Agency

AFFILIATION(S):

• Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band

HISTORY:

The cemetery contains the remains of African Creek people who were part of the force removal to Indian Territory in the 1830's and who were enslaved by the Muscogee Creek Nation Tribe. In 1866 these people were freed by the Treaty of 1866 and went on to be prominent citizens of the Muscogee Nation.

BCN Contact Information:

Rhonda Grayson

mcifb@1866creekfreedmen.com

www.1866creekfreedmen.com

OLD DUVAL COLORED CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1869

ADDITONAL NAMES: Old Duval Cemetery, Freedmen Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S):

• City of Jacksonville (COJ) Parks and Recreation Department

• COJ Public Works Department

HISTORY:

The Old Duval Colored Cemetery (Freedmen Cemetery) was established in 1869 for African American burials. The cemetery was developed as a two-acre expansion in the northern section of Old City Cemetery, which first opened in 1852. Before the opening of the Evergreen Cemetery in 1881 and the Memorial Cemetery in 1911, this cemetery was the primary one of choice for prominent African American families. The Old Duval Cemetery continued to be used for burials until the 1980s. A total of 426 burials in the cemetery have been recorded; however, record-keeping throughout the Old City Cemetery has not consistently been maintained over the years and the total number of African Americans buried on the grounds is perceived to be higher.

Laura Adorkor Kofey (1893-1928), who was an African princess, is one of only two individuals buried in the Old City Cemetery that are recognized as having achieved outstanding importance to the community, state or nation, but not represented appropriately by other structures or sites either locally or in other parts of Florida. Princess Kofey became a leader in the Pan African movement which sought to establish economic and diplomatic ties among all people from the African diaspora. The sole mausoleum in the Old City Cemetery is dedicated to Princess Kofey. Other prominent African-Americans buried throughout the cemetery include nationally renowned humanitarian, Eartha Mary Magdalene White (1876-1974), Sallye Mathis (1912-1982), a school teacher who served on the Jacksonville City Council from 1967-1982, Dr. Alexander Darnes, the first black doctor to practice in Jacksonville, and Edward Latson and Albert W. Price, two of the founders of the Afro American Life Insurance Company. In addition, the graves of fifty African American veterans are dispersed throughout the cemetery. Several of these veterans fought as part of the Union Army during the Civil War.

BCN Contact Information:

Andrew Mueller

Archives Specialist, Historic Preservation Section

AMueller@coj.net

PALM SPRING CEMETERY

FOUNDED: Prior to 1942

ADDITONAL NAMES: Palm Spring Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S):

• Cosmo Historical Preservation Corporation

HISTORY:

The Palm Spring Cemetery in Jacksonville, Florida, is locally significant under Criteria A for Ethnic Heritage: Black, Ethnic Heritage: Gullah Geechee, and Early settlement/Exploration. The period of significance extends from circa 1942 to 1970. The cemetery is the best surviving resource associated with the historic Gullah Geechee community of Cosmo. Cosmo was formed after the Civil War, as former enslaved people, many of whom came from the coastal regions and Sea Islands of Georgia and South Carolina, arrived here as homesteaders. It was one of a small number of Gullah communities that lived in relative isolation in the Mill Cove area. The cemetery also functioned as a burial ground for the black communities of Mayport and what is now Jacksonville Beach. Like many African American communities during the era of segregation, the people in Cosmo, Mayport, and the beaches created the Palm Springs Cemetery in part to provide deceased family members with a level of dignity in death they were often denied in life. Although the oldest known marked burial dates to 1942, according to local informants the cemetery is actually older than this.

The full extent of the original cemetery is unknown, as there are no surviving burial records and many of the burials were either unmarked or the headstones either removed, destroyed, or deteriorated. The surrounding site has been heavily impacted by modern development, with suburban homes to the north and south, a former golf course to the east, and a retention pond and Fort Caroline Road to the west. Fencing has gone up around the cemetery. Although there has been no intensive archaeological investigation of the site, there are clear indications of unmarked burials extending past the fence lines.

(Historical Summary provided by Andrew Waber Florida Division of Historical Resources)

During the year of 2020, Paim Springs (Spring) Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historical places by the United States Department of Interior.

BCN Contact Information:

Leevon White

leevwht@aol.com

COCONUT GROVE CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1913

ADDITONAL NAMES: Charlotte Jane Memorial Park, Grove Bahamian Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S):

• Coconut Grove Cemetery Association

HISTORY:

In 1913, the cemetery property was purchased by five families for the sum of $140.00. The families that purchased the property are Burrow, Higgs, Reddick, Ross and the E.W.F. Stirrup families. The Coconut Grove Cemetery was first used as a graveyard in the early 1900's when Miami's Bahamian immigrants moved their cemetery from another location.

The cemetery was created by the Coconut Grove Colored Cemetery Association and today it is managed by the Coconut Grove Cemetery Association, which includes the following families: Burrows, Higgs, Reddick, Ross and Stirrup. It adjoins the Charlotte Jane Memorial Cemetery, which was named in honor of the wife of E.W.F. Stirrup. Adding to the lore of the cemetery are the 12 anthropomorphic "head and shoulder stones," which can only be found here in Miami-Dade County.

BCN Contact Information:

Coconut Grove Cemetery Association

bevy3435@gmail.com

OLD EBENEZER CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1830

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S):

• Cobb County Cemetery Preservation Commission

HISTORY:

Old Ebenezer Cemetery is believed to be a historical cemetery for the enslaved. This cemetery located adjacent to Gritters Library at Shaw Park, in Cobb County, Georgia. Ebenezer resides on 1.5 acers in an urban area. Old Ebenezer Cemetery is believed to have been in use since the 1830’s. Also, this cemetery is believed to be a part of Ebenezer Methodist Episcopal Church. Since records were lost and destroyed during the Civil War, it is not certain that this information is correct. But sometime about the turn of the 20th century, Liberty Hill Missionary Baptist Church became the custodians of the cemetery. To date, there are 84 documented individuals buried there. There are many graves that cannot be verified and will probably remain unknown.

BCN Contact Information:

Francine McAfee Wilkins

oldebenezercemetery@libertyhill-mbc.com

https://www.cobbcounty.org/community-development/planning/historic-preservation/cemetery-preservation-commission

CAROLINA SPRINGS CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1866

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S):

• Saunders Family Foundation

HISTORY:

This cemetery is across the road from the old Cole Creek Church. The cemetery is well kept, although there are a number of graves in the forested area beside the cemetery. There are a multitude of field stone markers. The cemetery is maintained by the Saunders Family Foundation (an organization consisting of descendants and community members).

BCN Contact Information:

Wanda Dillard

dillard.19@icloud.com

GOOD HOPE CHURCH BLACK CEMETERY

FOUNDED: Around the 1880s

ADDITONAL NAMES: Good Hope Colored Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S):

• Newton County Community Remembrance Project

HISTORY:

The 119 year old cemetery lies on three acres of land in Good Hope Mississippi, in Newton, County Research found over 500 burials in the cemetery. I remember as a child I remember during church service, twice a year, the pastor would announce community clean-up dates for the cemetery. Clean -up days happened each Saturday before Memorial Day and the first Sunday in August in time for the annual revival meeting at the church. the men, women and children would clean and elder women would prepare food and drinks. These events were major community activities and served to renew community ties.

In recent years clen-up and restoration is done by the descendants of those laid to rest there; On the first Sunday in August many family members throughout the country journeys home to the almost deserted Good Hope Settlement to do as our ancestors did for the past hundred years, to care for the cemetery- to ensure it will continue to be a visual history for everyone. Black History: 1908 two Good Hope community members were lynched and is buried in the cemetery. With the help of the Equal Justice Initiative 2021 a memorial marker was placed in the Good Hope Church Cemetery.

BCN Contact Information:

Joyce Salter Johnson

joyceboggess39@gmail.com

https://salter-saulter.com/

EASTERN LIGHT CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1864

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S): Pennsylvania Hallowed Grounds

HISTORY:

Eastern Light Cemetery in Altoona was created in 1864 and the land which fronts 10th Street and Oak Ridge Cemetery was purchased by John Ferguson, George Hooper, and John Alexander for African American citizens of Altoona. In addition, to these men, George M. Jackson, Henry Johnson, George Payne, and Allan (or Allen) Hurley were its first stockholders. It houses the remains of 6 USCT soldiers, the remains of the first Black high school graduate of Altoona High and the remains of the youngest son and his wife of Blair County's best known Underground Railroad conductor.

BCN Contact Information:

Blair County Branch NAACP #2252

admin@blairconaacp.org

GREENLAWN CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1821/1822

ADDITONAL NAMES: Eleven Stadium, Burying Ground, Old Burying Ground, Union Cemetery, City Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S):

• Indiana Landmarks Black Heritage Preservation Program

HISTORY:

Abandoned, neglected, and built upon for generations, the approximately 4-acre tract is known as the “Old Burying Ground”. This was a segregated cemetery designated for African Americans and poor Euro- Americans. In total, it encompassed 25 acres, with the White River forming the boundary next to the Old Burying Ground, where the African American citizens were buried. The cemetery was closed to new burials in the 1870s.

In 1894, the city passed an ordinance was declaring the Greenlawn Cemetery and tracts adjacent to it a public nuisance. The ordinance described the area as falling into a state of decay and neglect. This led to the removal of fencing, vegetation, of uninterred corpses, and other contents of the vaults. The vaults were destroyed. Soon the Greenlawn Cemetery was abandoned and those bodies which were not washed away or damaged by industrialization are still there.

Today the city is investing in a new “Sports Complex", and part of that development will include building a new bridge to span the White River, called the Henry Street Bridge. The footings for this bridge will be on top of the Old Burying Ground, where the Black settlers were interred. We are advocating for this to be rectified by an intentional mitigation before construction begins.

BCN Contact Information:

Indiana Remembrance Coalitiion

haselnuss132@gmail.com

Www.indianalandmarks.org

UNION BETHEL CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1831

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S):

• Lower Township Historic Preservation Commission

HISTORY:

By the early 1800's, there was a community of free Blacks, and most likely some escaped enslaved people, located in a rural wooded area. Most members of the community were farmers and some had been formerly enslaved. A group of trustees approached a farm owner to purchase land to build a church to serve this community. In 1831, land was conveyed "that they shall erect and build...a house or place of worship for the use of the members of the Methodist Episcopal Church" and later "burying ground for Coloured people." A church was built but is no longer standing.

The earliest burial in the cemetery was in 1834 and the latest in 1947. Over the years, various groups have participated in efforts to restore the cemetery and preserve it. In 2018, the Lower Township Historic Preservation Commission took over the care of the cemetery and are the caretakers today. The cemetery is notable for the 16 veterans of the Civil War, 15 of whom served in the US Colored Troops and one in the Navy as well as one veteran who served in both WWI and WWII.

BCN Contact Information:

Lower Township Historic Preservation Commission

Pary Tell

parytell@gmail.com

MACEDONIA AFRICAN METHODIST CHURCH CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1880

ADDITONAL NAMES: Warsaw AME cemetery

AFFILIATION(S):

• Johns Creek Historical Society

HISTORY:

THE CEMETERY

Hidden up a steep winding driveway near one of the busiest intersections in the City of Johns Creek, Georgia is a small African-American cemetery. The Macedonia African Methodist Church Cemetery (also known as Warsaw AME cemetery) is known to be the burial place of at least two who were enslaved and others who were first and second generation descendants of slaves on local farms. The cemetery has been abandoned for years and is in need of headstone repairs, identification of unmarked graves, and research to learn about those buried on the site.

The Johns Creek Historical Society involvement- Several years ago, the Johns Creek Historical Society took on the project of preserving and improving the cemetery by working with the City and by researching those buried at the site. This project is led by Board Member Kirk Canaday.

Our efforts follow those of others. In 1998, the Warsaw Historic Preservation Society was formed and through their efforts, Fulton County obtained a maintenance easement to the property. The group also tried to have an overlay historic district formed for the area surrounding the intersection of Medlock and State Bridge roads. In 2016, Preserve Johns Creek contracted an archaeological survey by New South Associates that mapped marked graves and potential unmarked graves.

BCN Contact Information:

Johns Creek Historical Society

info@johnscreekhistory.org

johnscreekhistory.org

UNION CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1900

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S):

• Ujima Union Cemetery Project

HISTORY:

Union Cemetery, named in honor of the two dozen veterans of the Civil War who are buried here, was established in 1900 by Carlisle resident Robert Thompson, Sr. (1828-1900). Thompson was one of the most prominent African-Americans in central Pennsylvania during his day. From his birth, an enslaved person, in Front Royal, VA to his death in his home on Carlisle's South Street, Thompson lived the unique life of an entrepreneur who owned a large amount of property and businesses in the Carlisle and Harrisburg areas. The land for the cemetery was purchased in the 1890s after Lincoln Cemetery, located at the corner of North Pitt Street and West Penn Street, became full. Upon Mr. Thompson's death, several generations of the Thompson family managed the site before it was taken over by the Borough of Carlisle, which still maintains the cemetery. The earliest gravestone is dated 1885. Union Cemetery follows one of the earliest burial customs by burying everyone facing east.

BCN Contact Information:

Ujima Union Cemetery Project

sigvoice@aol.com

https://www.facebook.com/friendsofUnionCemetery

OLD CANAAN FREEDOM COLONY CEMETERY

FOUNDED: Pre-1865

ADDITONAL NAMES: Canaan Missionary Baptist Church

AFFILIATION(S):

• Canaan Baptist Church Cemetery Association

HISTORY:

The Old Canaan cemetery site was one of the original burial sites for the Texas Freedom Colony established immediately after slavery ended in 1865. The cemetery along with a church and school were established in 1870 and included a thriving, self-sufficient farming and ranching community.

In about 1935 nightriders, also known as Klansmen, burned the Canaan-Rosenwald Elementary School and threatened to burn the Canaan Church down if they would not move. Due to these threats and pressure, the church and school were relocated about a half mile south of the original location.

The cemetery is now on private property, and we have been working for several years to reclaim the site.

BCN Contact Information:

Earnol Brewster

ebrewster1906@gmail.com

FRATERNAL MEMORIAL PARK

FOUNDED: 1928

ADDITONAL NAMES: Grasselli, Memorial Park, Fraternal Park, and Mount Zion

AFFILIATION(S):

• Historic Clarksburg WV Cemetery Preservation Alliance

HISTORY:

Although little information on the cemetery is available it is known that it was utilized for predominately African Americans and burials began in 1928 and continued through to the last known burial in 1978. Other information obtained concerning the cemetery consists of World War I and World War II War veterans buried in the Cemetery Upon investigation of the Cemetery Headstones and additional research from the WV death indexes database (West Virginia Department of Arts, Vital Research Records Search Selection, 2018), HRC identified a total of seven men that are World War I veterans that are buried within The Fraternal

Memorial Cemetery. HRC identified one man that may be a World War II veteran and we have identified his draft card. In addition, his death certificate was checked in the veteran box, but the war was not named. An additional four men were found to have draft registration cards from fold3 (Ancestry, 2018) military database and The National Archives online database (Administration, n.d.). The four individuals with draft cards could not be definitively concluded that they went to War.

BCN Contact Information:

Shaun Jedju

ShaunMJedju@hcwvcpa.org

www.hcwvcpa.org