BUENA VISTA PLANTATION CEMETERY

FOUNDED: Early 1820s

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

In 2019, archaeologists located an unmarked cemetery on the west bank of the Mississippi River, in upper St. James Parish, Louisiana, near the small Black community of Welcome. This location was formerly part of an antebellum sugar plantation known as Buena Vista, or Winchester, Plantation. The archaeologists did not excavate any of the burials in the cemetery to try to determine what, or how many, people were buried there. The present research was conducted in an effort to answer those questions, without necessitating additional excavation. In-depth historical, cartographic, and genealogical information was used to determine, with a large degree of confidence, that the individuals buried in this unmarked cemetery were likely slaves, freedmen, and their descendants, who lived, labored, and died on the plantation from the early 1820s to well into the twentieth century. Many of the descendant families, including the Butlers, Ceasars, Fishers, Geasons, Harrises, Hogans, Lallas, and Martins, continue to reside in, or maintain ties to, this portion of St. James Parish.

BCN Contact Information:

Don Hunter

dghunterjr@gmail.com

ZION HILL CME CEMETERY

FOUNDED: Late 1870s

ADDITONAL NAMES: Zion Church Cemetery, Zion Hill Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

This cemetery is affiliated with the Zion Hill CME Church of Cordova, Tennessee. The church and cemetery have both been serving the historically Black community of Bridgewater for over a century.

BCN Contact Information:

Reverend Gentry

zionhillcme@gmail.com

OAK GROVE COLORED CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1921

ADDITONAL NAMES: William P. Johnston Memorial Cemetery, Graham Colored Cemetery, Johnston Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

The Oak Grove Colored Cemetery is located on the US 380 Bypass and Texas 16 in Graham, Texas. The land for the cemetery was donated by Addie Graham on May 7, 1921. It was deed by Addie Graham for the specific purpose of burying colored people. It was known to be the colored section of Oak Grove Cemetery ( a public cemetery owned by the city of Graham) within the city of Graham, Texas. The first known burial was in 1929. The most recent and the last burial was 1971. The name of the cemetery was unofficially changed to separate it from the predominately white cemetery.

In July 2023, Rev. Vanessa A. Sims, began looking for her sister's grave. During her search for her sister, she found the cemetery to be overgrown, city and county officials denied ownership of cemetery land, no survey existed, a drainage easement had been placed on cemetery grounds, cemetery land had been taken to install 3 lanes of the US 380 bypass, a fence had been installed to shorten the cemetery, and sections of the cemetery had been sold to 2 private individuals. The African Americans buried in this sacred space had been devalued and neglected by city and county officials. The Texas Historic Commission has approved a Historic Marker/Medallion for the cemetery.

To protect and preserve the cemetery, community member, Rev. Vanessa A. Sims, applied for and was able to obtain a Texas Historic Cemetery designation from the Texas Historic Commission in May 2024.

Dr. Walter and the Texas Tech Archeology team will continue the archaeological investigation of the cemetery on October 12, 2024. In her July 2024 archaeology investigation report entitled "A Place Among the Saints" she writes "Extensive mapping efforts also indicates possible disturbances and encroachments that have negatively impacted the cemetery. Based on multiple oral accounts and a review of historic maps including the right of way map (discussed in an early section of this report), it is highly likely that the construction of Highway 380 and the associated drainage infringed upon the OGC-WPJ Cemetery. Most distressing about this realization, is the real possibility that burials are under the actual roadway."

BCN Contact Information:

Rev. Vanessa Sims

vanessaannsims@gmail.com

PLEASANT POINT CEMETERY

FOUNDED: Early 1800s

ADDITONAL NAMES: Woodlawn Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

Pleasant Point Cemetery (also known as Woodlawn Cemetery) is located approximately 50 miles southwest of Jacksonville Florida in Green Cove Springs, Florida. It rests just off of County Rd 209 about a half a mile north of Magnolia Cemetery. Magnolia is recognized as an Historic Civil War Cemetery, it sits on the west side of the road across from the Saint Johns River. Pleasant Point’s coordinates are 30.16592 N, 81.699639 W. It is currently severely overgrown and only a few grave monuments are still visible above ground. Find a Grave lists 15 confirmed individuals buried at Pleasant Point. Other documentation suggests that there are most likely 50 or more graves sites at this cemetery. It is referred to as a “Negro Cemetery” in historical documents and is listed as such in the manuscript, “They Are Here” Cemeteries of Clay County, Florida” by Elizabeth R. Spencer. Based on current information Pleasant Point appears to have been used from the early 1800s up until the 1930s.

BCN Contact Information:

Steve Griffith

ussgriffy@gmail.com

WASHINGTON PARK CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1920

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

Established in 1920. Abandoned in 1991. 42 acres remain (from original 75 acres). Over 45,000 interments remain (after the "removal" of over 12,000 burials in the 90s for the airport expansion).

Washington Park Cemetery is an historic African American cemetery located in St. Louis, Missouri, just adjacent to Lambert International Airport. Nearly 30 acres of the approximately 42-acre ancestral repository are in a wretched state of neglect and continued desecration. It serves as a generational source of community trauma, reminding descendants of both past and current injustice. The cemetery, which is highly visible from cars on Highway 70 and airplanes landing at Lambert Airport, is the final resting place for over 45,000 people, and for many years was one of few cemeteries where the black community could bury their deceased. Tens of thousands of travelers pass or land on this site daily, unaware of the tragic history and current plight of this sacred ground. We receive calls from families all over the United States looking for their relatives, and we believe everyone has a connection to someone at Washington Park, once a place of prestige and honor. Revered ministers, Urban League and other prominent fraternal order founders, Homer Phillips physicians, Harris-Stowe professors, Sumner teachers, attorneys, activists, funeral directors, dentists, and a Supreme Court attorney were all interred here. Washington Park Cemetery is also the final resting place for many U.S. servicemen who chose to be buried by family members and near the homes of their survivors as opposed to the rather far away Jefferson Barracks Cemetery. Veterans buried at the cemetery have served in the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. With military stones found destroyed throughout the cemetery - that once represented their devoted service in five U.S. wars - survivors are lamenting their veterans’ decisions to be buried at the deteriorating Washington Park Cemetery which has no perpetual care funds.

BCN Contact Information:

Aja Corrigan

StLouisPreservationCrew@gmail.com

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

AFRICAN CEMETERY NO. 2

FOUNDED: 1870

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

This is the earliest recorded cemetery in Lexington to be organized, owned, and managed by African Americans. The 8-acre property was purchased in 1869 by Union Benevolent Society No. 2 (from which the cemetery gets its name) and the cemetery was chartered in 1870; burials continued until 1976. The people here were important leaders in Lexington. The cemetery uniquely honors individuals significant in the history of Thoroughbred Racing. Oliver Lewis, the first winner of the Kentucky Derby is buried here and it was the original burial site for the 3-time KY Derby-winning jockey Isaac Murphy. There over 150 members of the USCT including three individuals who were members of the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Regiments.

Like many private cemeteries African Cemetery No. 2 was not endowed and with the death of its founding members the cemetery became urban wasteland - it was declared abandoned on April 17, 1973. City government claimed ownership and surveyed graves in the cemetery in 1973 in anticipation of planned development; the revelation of over 5000 burial sites precluded that use. In March 1979, the Rev. H. Greene organized a nonprofit group as African Cemetery No. 2 Inc. to reclaim the landscape. The cemetery was cleaned and restored in 1980 and African Cemetery No. 2 Inc. was deeded the property in May 1981. The nonprofit was reorganized in 1995 and restoration, historic preservation, and cultural activities have continued since. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. It is the home of Lexington’s longest running Juneteenth Celebration (since 2005).

BCN Contact Information:

Mark Coyne

mscoyn00@gmail.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

ST. MARY CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1855

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

St. Mary Cemetery (established circa 1855), located in what was once a Texas Freedom Community bearing the same name in South Ellis County, Texas, is the burial place of those enslaved by General Edward H. Tarrant and their descendants. In addition to Tarrant graves, burials include the surnames: Graves, Hardeman, Hawkins, Herron, Hines, Myers, Payne, Rankin, Richardson, Sims, Standifer, Sweatt and Watson, formerly enslaved individuals and their descendants from nearby smaller plantations and farms whose descriptions can be found on both the Texas Slave Schedules of 1850 and 1860, and the United States Census in Ellis County, Texas, 1870 through 1940.

Willoughby Rankin can be traced to Stephen F. Austin's Old 300 Texas Colonists. He entered Texas from the state of Alabama as the property of Frederick Harrison Rankin. For 120 years, St. Mary Cemetery was the usual burial place for African Americans who lived in nearby communities in South Ellis County including, Italy, Avalon, and Forreston, Texas. The last burial (cremated) was interred in 2000.

BCN Contact Information:

Elmerine Allen Bell

elmerinebell@yahoo.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

MOSES CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1880s

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

Moses Cemetery on River Road in Bethesda, Maryland, is located on poor land that was hilly, swampy and non-arable. Before the Civil War the land was bounded on all sides by slave owners. Although no documentation remains, there is a high probability that enslaved people from these were buried on this poor land as that was common across the slave states. After the Civil War, the land was sold to a number of free Blacks who established a thriving town there. A number of burials were documented there during the second half of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century, including a Civil War veteran who fought with the 30th Colored Infantry Regiment.

In 1910, an African American community across the DC border, which faced displacement to make way for suburban development, sought to move its Cemetery to the River Road location where it bought a one-acre plot of land in the middle of the community. Congressional approval was required to move the bodies which finally happened in 1920. In the 1950s, the River Road community came under similar pressure from developers and by the mid 1960s, the community had been driven off the land. The 1910 cemetery was buried under a parking lot while scattered other tombstones could still be spotted. The cemetery is now the center of protest and legal action to restore the cemetery.

BCN Contact Information:

Marsha Coleman Adebayo

nofearcoalition@aol.com

bethesdaafricancemeterycoalition.net