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

ZION HILL CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1868

ADDITONAL NAMES: Zion Hill Colored Baptist Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S):

• Preserve & Serve Georgia Inc

HISTORY:

Zion Hill Cemetery, a historic African American Baptist Burial Site, was established in 1868 as a “colored cemetery” for the Zion Hill Colored Baptist Church in Monroe, Georgia shortly after the Civil War. Land was purchased by former enslaved man Cyrus Briscoe from his former enslaver, Waters Briscoe. Cyrus sold a portion of the land to church trustees. Church records indicate in 1868, a log cabin was built for use as the “Colored People Church.” In 1870, a wooden structure was built next to the log cabin. The church changed its name to Zion Hill Colored Baptist Church. After a few months, about 20 church members pulled away and formed the Tabernacle Baptist Church. In 1949, Zion Hill Church reunited with the Tabernacle Baptist Church under the name, First African Baptist Church. The church divided in 1953, and the First African Baptist Church and Tabernacle Baptist Church moved to new locations, abandoning the Zion Hill Cemetery site and leaving it vulnerable.

BCN Contact Information:

Elizabeth Jones

preserveandservegeorgiainc@gmail.com

https://www.zionhillcemetery.com

RUBY FAMILY CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1828

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S):

• Durham Historical Society

• Durham Historic District Committee

HISTORY:

The Ruby Family Cemetery, established in 1828, is located in Durham, Maine. It is the family cemetery of Samuel Ruby and his family, the first African American family to live in Durham, Maine.

In the 1800's, Durham was one of the few Maine towns to have a black preacher. Reverend Samuel Ruby and his family lived on the edge of town. Samuel was the brother of Portland's famous stagecoach driver and abolitionist Reuben Ruby (founding member of the Abyssinian Meeting House).

BCN Contact Information:

Emily Alexander

brown.bag.seminars@gmail.com

https://www.durhamhistoricalsociety.com/

FORREST CITY COLORED CEMETERY

FOUNDED: Unknown

ADDITONAL NAMES: Purifoy Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S):

• St. Francis County Historical Society

HISTORY:

The Forrest City Colored Cemetery is a long forgotten African American Cemetery were several prominent black leaders and politicians are laid to rest. For example, JH Blount (the first Black Governale candidate), Wallace Purifoy (Black and Tan party), and Dr. RA Williams (founder of Supreme Royal Circle of Friends of the World). This cemetery has been forgotten. As well as the significant historical beacons buried here.

BCN Contact Information:

Angela Wilburn

wilburna2015@gmail.com

PLUMMERS CEMETERY

FOUNDED: Prior to 1898

ADDITONAL NAMES: Mount Calvary

AFFILIATION(S):

• Save Austin's Cemeteries

HISTORY:

Plummers Cemetery is a historically African American, Upper South folk cemetery, containing family plots, handmade markers, and examples of art and craft. Plummers Cemetery was likely established prior to 1898, the death year of Jack Jones, possibly the first person interred in the cemetery with a marker.128 The cemetery may have been known as Mount Calvary Cemetery. No map of grave lots has been located for Plummers, and early twentieth century burial dates appear to be located throughout the site. Some family plots were clearly purchased as a unit and occupied over time, as in the other city cemeteries, but the condition or lack of grave markers makes the development of the cemetery difficult to determine today.

The cemetery is relatively small—only about eight acres in size—and burials have taken place fairly continuously throughout the 20th century and into the present day. Plummers Cemetery contains a variety of handmade, craftsman carved, machine carved, and military grave markers. Many of the handmade markers are poured concrete with inset letters and are notable for the content of the aggregate, which in many cases features large pieces of mica, a stone with high reflectivity, mixed into or pressed into the surface of the concrete.

BCN Contact Information:

Save Austin's Cemeteries

President@SAChome.org

sachome.org

EVERGREEN CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1926 (early cemetery founded in 1891)

ADDITONAL NAMES: Highland Park Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S):

• Save Austin's Cemeteries

HISTORY:

Evergreen Cemetery was established in 1926 by Austin’s City Council for the exclusive use of African-Americans. It includes a portion of an earlier municipal cemetery called Highland Park Cemetery. Today, there are over 12,000 burials at Evergreen.

When you step into Evergreen and walk among the markers, you are surrounded by the people who helped build the community of Austin. Politicians, educators, businesspeople, artists, musicians, veterans, and laborers. The history of our city can be told by learning about the stories of people buried here.

BCN Contact Information:

Save Austin's Cemeteries

President@SAChome.org

sachome.org

BERRY CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1880

ADDITONAL NAMES: Holy Resurrection Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S):

• Ozarks Afro-American Heritage Museum

HISTORY:

The Berry Cemetery, also known as Holy Resurrection Cemetery, is an historic African American burial ground; at least 73 individuals, mostly African Americans, have been interred in the cemetery since 1880. The cemetery is located near Ash Grove, a town in southwest Missouri, in the Ozarks region of the U.S. The one-acre cemetery is in a rural setting, on a rise overlooking fields and bordered on three sides by woods. The burial ground itself is a relatively open green space with scattered evergreen and deciduous trees, reached by a dirt track from a paved rural highway.

The Berry Cemetery today contains at least 60 historic grave markers including 25 inscribed head stones, 11 inscribed foot stones, 15 head or foot stones without inscriptions, six concrete markers, and a depression bordered by upright field stones. The cemetery also contains two (or three) stone cairns identified in Berry family oral history as Indigenous burials markers. In addition, in recent years, multiple wooden posts and Orthodox wooden crosses have been placed at previously unmarked graves. Among the historic stone markers, the most common materials are limestone and marble. Gravestone styles include tablet, block, pulpit, cross-vault obelisk, and unshaped fieldstone. Burials are arranged in rows oriented north-south and graves are oriented east-west with headstones at the west end of graves.

**Click to read more

BCN Contact Information:

Dr. Elizabeth Sobel

ESobel@missouristate.edu

Berrycem.com

RED HILL CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1800s

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S):

• Okefenokee Heritage Center

HISTORY:

Red Hill Cemetery is an approximately six-acre historically Black cemetery located in Waycross, GA. It contains roughly 2,000 burials and has unfortunately experienced vandalism for the past several decades. Red Hill is an important site for the surrounding African American community; numerous local residents have family members and other loved ones buried there. Oral Histories with local descendants reveal the untold stories of Black life in Waycross, of the churches and schools that were central spaces in the community, of the accomplishments and perseverance of African Americans. In this way, Red Hill is an important archive of local Black history. Through a collaboration between the University of North Florida and the Okefenokee Heritage Center, faculty, students, staff and community members have come together to restore Red Hill and document its history.

BCN Contact Information:

Felicia Bevel

felicia.bevel@unf.edu

TIMBUCTOO CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1854 per deed; 1847 is oldest gravestone

ADDITONAL NAMES: Zion Weleyan Methodist Episcopal African Church Cemetery; Timbuctoo Civil War Memorial Cemetery,

AFFILIATION(S):

• Timbuctoo Historical Society

HISTORY:

The Zion Wesleyan, Methodist Episcopal African Church was incorporated in December of 1854 and the land, including designation of a cemetery, was purchased that same month. However, since incorporation of churches and charitable organizations was a relatively new phenomenon in 1854, we don't assume the church and cemetery were founded at that time. In fact, the oldest remaining gravestone is dated 1847. We believe the church and cemetery occupied the premises long before 1854, perhaps under a rental agreement. It is noteworthy that the 1847 grave is for Eliza Parker. She was the wife of Timbuctoo community leader David Parker, who was a trustee of the church. Timbuctoo is an antebellum free Black settlement settled in 1826. More information about Timbuctoo can be found at www.TimbuctooNJ.com

The name Timbuctoo Civil War Memorial Cemetery is associated with the installation of a name marker in 2006 by the Westampton Historical Society. Since 8 of 11 remaining gravestones are US Colored Troops (USCT) that fought in the Civil War, logical thinking at that time was that it was a cemetery for Civil War soldiers. However, the 1854 deed suggests otherwise, with restrictive language about who can be buried here. It says the premises were to be used "as a place of religious worship according to the form of government and discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in America, and as a place for the burial of the dead of such as are in connection with said church or the descendants thereof, (and such others as the majority of the Trustees for the time being may permit) forever." In addition, ground penetrating radar conducted in 2009, identified as many as 164 unmarked graves. Based on the foregoing, we believe that the USCT were buried in the cemetery because of their affiliation with the church, not because of their military service, and the majority of the interments were civilian church members.

The Timbuctoo website noted above includes additional information, including brief biographies of the US Colored Troops.

Sources:

Burlington County, New Jersey, Deeds, A:77.Trustees of the Zion Wesleyan ME African Church –Timbuctoo,23 December 1854; Burlington County Clerk's Office, Mount Holly.

Guy Weston "Timbuctoo and the First Emancipation of the Nineteenth Century," New Jersey Studies, Vol. 8 No. 1 (2022)

William J Chadwick and Peter Leach, Geophysical Survey of Timbuctoo, Westampton Township, New Jersey, John Milner Associates, September 2009

BCN Contact Information:

Guy Weston

GuyWeston@TimbuctooNJ.com

www.TimbuctooNJ.com

HALFWAY AFRICAN AMERICAN CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1897

ADDITONAL NAMES: Halfway Colored Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S):

• Coalition to Protect Maryland Burial Places

HISTORY:

Halfway “Colored” Cemetery (as it was known) was founded in 1897, when a Black fraternal organization, in Hagerstown, Maryland, purchased a piece of farmland outside town to create a new cemetery for Hagerstown’s Black community. The organization was called the Perseverance Lodge of the Independent Order of Good Samaritans and Daughters of Samaria. The cemetery was dedicated in August of that year with great ceremony. It was in use for about 35 years, with some 400 African Americans, mostly from Hagerstown, being buried here. The last known burials took place in 1932. The cemetery contains earlier graves too, dating as far back as 1844. The earlier graves are believed to have been moved to Halfway from the Bethel/Ebenezer A.M.E. Church cemetery in Hagerstown. At least thirteen veterans are buried here: twelve men who fought in the USCT in the Civil War, and one who fought in World War I. Others buried at Halfway include a Pullman porter, a midwife, a student attending Storer College at Harpers Ferry, a pastor, and business people.

Originally, the cemetery was six acres in size, covering most of what is now the 11000 block of Clinton Avenue, on both sides of the street. But by 1944, the Samaritan lodge had declined. The remaining members sold most of the cemetery property to a developer, retaining less than an acre as cemetery. The portion of the land that has not been sold is what makes up the Halfway African American Cemtery today. The cemetery is surrounded by houses and yards, with no direct street access as of 2020. The cemetery became overgrown and largely forgotten; most of the headstones were moved and broken, lost among the vegetation and fallen trees. Restoration efforts began in March 2020 and continue today. Surviving headstones have been located and cleaned; there are plans to restore the space and create public access. The Friends of Halfway African American Cemetery, incorporated in 2022, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

BCN Contact Information:

Emilie Amt

halfwaycemetery@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064853073592

UNITED COLORED AMERICAN CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1883

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S):

• The Union Foundation

HISTORY:

United Colored American Cemetery was founded by the United Colored American Association. It is one of the oldest and most important African American Cemeteries in Ohio. The cemetery incorporated graves that had been previously located in Avondale which had been established in 1848. Many citizens of Avondale were unhappy about having a "Negro cemetery in their mist. In 1870's Avondale petitioned the Ohio Legislature and got a bill passed giving the local Board of Health power to declare the cemetery a public nuisance and had it closed. Abolitionist Martin Delany was at the original dedication and writes, "This is a most praiseworthy undertaking on the part of the colored citizens; and how shameful the necessity of a separate burial-place for the dead!" The cemetery became increasely neglected over the years. Council Charles P. Taft, Trustee of Spring Grove Cemetery was appointed to operate the cemetery. In 1968 he transferred the cemetery to Union Baptist Church.

United Colored American Cemetery is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. At least 45 African American veterans from the Civil War are buried here. Other prominent citizens buried here are abolition John Isom Gains (1821-1859). The United American Cemetery is in disrepair and restoration is urgently needed. Invasive plant species have overtaken large areas of the cemetery. Erosion and vandalism also have contributed to condition concerns. Headstones and monuments have tilted and fallen over. Improvements are needed to the roadway and the burial vault. In the last 5+ years large runoff of water and waste materials have been found. This had caused enormous additional deterioration. United Colored Cemetery was closed by the health department unsafe for families to visit their loved ones. We are actively looking for the cause and financial resources to restore this sacred burial ground.

BCN Contact Information:

Louise Stevenson

lstevenson@fuse.net

TheUnionFoundation.org

UNION BAPTIST CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1864

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S):

• The Union Foundation

HISTORY:

Union Baptist Cemetery is the oldest African American burial ground in Hamilton County at its original location, purchased, maintained, and still used by Union Baptist Church, the second oldest black congregation in Cincinnati. Union Baptist Cemetery is on the National Register of Historic places in America. This cemetery is the resting place of Underground Railroad conductors, artists, writers, musicians, physicians, business leaders, politicians, Civil Right workers, and many veterans, including approximately 150 veterans of the Civil War. Union Baptist Cemetery one of two historical cemeteries owned by Union Baptist Church.

BCN Contact Information:

Louise Stevenson

lstevenson@fuse.net

TheUnionFoundation.org

ENSLAVED CEMETERY, MAHWAH

FOUNDED: unknown, late 1700's/early 1800's

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S):

• Mahwah Museum

HISTORY:

Nestled among the trees along the Ramapo River, this cemetery is a roughly 40 x 100 foot swath of sacred ground, bordered with a low wall of stones, abandoned, yet still "tended." Local tradition states that this land was used as an enslaved cemetery. Bischoff and Kahn's 1979 book "History of Mahwah" (p. 413) lists these among the enslaver families in the area: Bogert, Bartholf, Cough, Terhune, Van Allen, Hopper, Maysinger, Boggs, Lydecker, Ackerman, Vanderbeek, Fell, Garrison, Smith, Westervelt, Haring, and Ryerson.

We seek to honor those whose names and stories have been lost. Buried here are those who were black enslaved, freedmen, and workers of the 1700s-1800s. The back area is assumed to be the burial site of enslaved or freedmen buried without markers. Those buried here were most likely of Afro-Dutch and possibly Ramapough Indian descent.

The marked graves include:

- Joseph Harrison,1850

- 3 children, ages 2, 3, 10 of York & Jane Harrison, a known freed family of the 1800’s

- Samuel Jennings, who worked for the Havemeyer family as a freedman in the 1800s. (Bischoff and Kahn (p.144) states: "The Jennings and some mountain people worked for Mountain Side (Farm)." The Jennings stone has a 20th century appearance and could possibly be a replacement.)

BCN Contact Information:

Mahwah Historic Preservation Commission

historic@mahwahtwp.org

mahwahmuseum.org

ELLSWORTH CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1876

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S):

• Coalition to Protect Maryland Burial Sites

HISTORY:

The Ellsworth Cemetery Corporation was created on December 21, 1876. Leaders of the African American community of Westminster, including USCT Union Army Veterans, filed Maryland Articles of Incorporation to provide a burial place "for the Colored residents of Westminster, Maryland".

Through the years, Ellsworth Cemetery has been the final resting place of many African Americans of Westminster families. Black residents of the Carroll County Alms House and residents of today's Westminster Rescue Mission of all races are buried there. Strangers' Row accepts those who die Carroll County without known family.

BCN Contact Information:

Diane Boettcher

admin@ellsworthcemetery.org

https://cpmbs.org/