MORNINGSTAR TABERNACLE NO. 88 CEMETERY AND HALL

FOUNDED: 1885

ADDITONAL NAMES: Morningstar Moses Cemetery; Moses Hall Cemetery; No. 10 Cemetery; Gibson Grove

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

Morningstar Moses Cemetery and Hall, founded in 1885 in Cabin John, Montgomery County, Maryland, is a significant African American historic site established by Morningstar Tabernacle No. 88 of the Ancient United Order of Sons & Daughters, Brothers & Sisters of Moses (MT88), Its early extant minutes book is a rare artifact. It shows how MT88 supported education, burial, and aid for its Black community. The 124 documented burials, including Clara Barton’s housekeeper Emma Jones and founding community member Sarah Gibson, date from 1894 to 1977, with 433 potential burials identified by GPR surveys. MT88 built a Moses Hall on the site for its meetings and community events. The site and local Black community were impacted by the construction of the Capital Beltway (I-495) in the 1960s. The Hall’s foundations remain the only remains of the three Moses Halls originally established in the county. Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, it stands as a testament to Black resilience, community, and history.

BCN Contact Information:

Friends of Moses Hall, Inc.

morningstarmosescj@gmail.com

https://cpmbs.org/

WINTERPOCK AFRICAN AMERICAN CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1853

ADDITONAL NAMES: Patterson-Haskins Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S):

• Chesterfield Historical Society

HISTORY:

In a thickly-wooded area in Winterpock (Chesterfield County), Virginia lies a burial ground where enslaved and formerly enslaved African Americans were interred from at least as early as 1853 to as late as the 1930s. The land, purchased in 1853 by James Henry Cox (1810-1877), owner of Clover Hill Coal Mines (which relied on enslaved labor), was used as a burying place initially for African Americans enslaved as domestic workers in the Cox household. Documents in the Cox family (dating to the 1850s) make mention of this burial ground. While none of the graves is marked, existing natural stones suggest that stones were once placed at the heads and feet of the graves. Two people have been identified with a high degree of certain as having been buried here in the 1930s, both formerly enslaved in the area: Edward “Ned” Patterson (c. 1835-1937) and his wife of seventy-five years Martha Jane “Jennie” Haskins Patterson (c.1842-1938). Jennie Patterson’s 1937 narrative was collected by the WPA/ Library of Congress Collection. Records suggest that other Patterson family members are buried here, one or more of their sixteen children (seven of whom lived to adulthood) and/or grandchildren. During a 2023 site visit, archaeologist Joanna Green of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) authenticated the burial ground and estimated that it may contain as many as 30 graves. Green listed the cemetery in the VA State database of cemeteries. The land where the cemetery is located presently belongs to Vulcan Materials Corps, based in Birmingham, AL.

BCN Contact Information:

Elizabeth Logan Harris

eloganharris@gmail.com

https://chesterfieldhistoricalsociety.com

ISLAND POND TWO CEMETERY

FOUNDED: UNKNOWN

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

Property Alt Key: 2582529. The land where this cemetery is located was part of an original land grant from 1884 belonging to Burrell Reese. Burrell and his family were enslaved in the Apopka area before the Civil War. Burrell's land was adjacent to his son-in-law, Jackson Knight's land. Both Burrell and Jackson have cemeteries located in the southwest corners of their original land grants. According to some death certificates, the cemetery on Jackson's land was named Island Pond Cemetery. In 2009 when Margaret Reese-Williams began searching for her family history and located both cemeteries, she registered them on the Florida Master Site File. She heard that Island Pond One was no longer used when it became full. That is when more burials occurred at the other site. Margaret gave the official name of Island Pond 2 to the cemetery on Burrell Reese's land. Property records show that the Island Pond 2 site, which is 5 acres, was owned in the 1940s by the Sorrento Burial Society. Today it is held by a private landowner who has applied for a family lot split so that homes may be built on the two plots. This site has had grave markers removed over the years and heavy equipment was brought on to do clearing as recently as 2023. The current property owner is not cooperating with efforts to preserve and protect the cemetery.

BCN Contact Information:

Katherine de Jongh & Margaret Reese-Williams

ELMWMP@COMCAST.NET

ISLAND POND ONE CEMETERY

FOUNDED: early 1880s

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

Island Pond One was formed out of land owned by Jackson Knight, through the Homestead Act. Jack or Jackson Knight, along with a group of former slaves from the William Shelton Delk "plantation" from Apopka, Florida settled in this area after the end of the Civil War. They named this area Island Pond. Property records show two cemeteries and a church, the Island Pond Primitive Baptist Church, existed on adjacent parcels. Over time the lands were sold off piece by piece. These early residents contributed significantly to the creation of and the economy of nearby communities of Mount Dora, Sorrento, and Eustis. In 2009, two women from Fort Pierce came to Lake County, Florida, researching their family history. Their persistence paid off and they registered two cemeteries on the Florida Master Site File, Island Pond One and Island Pond Two. In 2023 a nonprofit was formed to aid in the research, restoration, and preservation of the two cemeteries. In January of 2024, a committee working on behalf of the Division of Historical Resources selected our grant application for funding from the Abandoned African American Cemeteries Grant Program. We are awaiting the legislature's approval for the requested funding for the project.

BCN Contact Information:

Katherine de Jongh

katherine.dejongh@aol.com

BIG ZION CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1863

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

Big Zion AME Zion Church was founded in 1863 by Solomon Johnson.  While he was enslaved, he asked his enslaver permission to build a "brush-harber" on the plantation. He granted Solomon Johnson the site as a permanent meeting place for worshipping and assigned a space as a burial ground for his slaves in 1863, documented records attest to the donation are located in the Tangipahoa Parish Clerk's Office is dated 1871. An additional two acres of land was donated to the church for a cemetery by William Woods to Solomon Johnson. Solomon Johnson is buried in Big Zion Cemetery; along with other men and woman who served in the military, educators, farmers, and church members.

BCN Contact Information:

Antoinette Harrell

afrigenah@yahoo.com

SAN MARCOS BLANCO CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1893

ADDITONAL NAMES: SMBC, San Marcos Community Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S):

• ———

• ————-

HISTORY:

Extensive research was conducted by the late Ms. Ollie Giles. The San Marcos-Blanco Cemetery was established in 1893 by five African American men. Wyatt Newman, James Landon, Henry Richardson, Lucky McQueen, and Miles Bowen purchased the 10.62 acres for $200 cash.

Officially, the cemetery became the San Marcos-Blanco Association Cemetery in 1901. In 1981, several local residents reorganized a cemetery association and had the name changed to San Marcos Community Cemetery. Some years later it was changed back to San Marcos-Blanco.

Today there are more than 400 graves with headstones and inscriptions. Many others do not have headstones, and Giles says there are probably still more that are unmarked and undiscovered. The cemetery is located on Post Road north of San Marcos. Initiatives will be focused on the maintenance and preservation of the site. It is presently being encroached upon by local expansion efforts. Vandalism and unauthorized entries onto the grounds contribute to our concerns.

BCN Contact Information:

Johnnie Bratton, Jr

coachjbratton@gmail.com

BRAINERD CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1734

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

Brainerd Cemetery is one of two cemeteries operated by the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury. According to our records, the earliest burial occurred in the "Old Yard" in 1738. From information gleaned from church maps, records and longtime members, we know that behind the "Old Yard" was an area that had been designated both as the "Colored Section" and the "Potters' Field." The earliest burial in the segregated section was that of Edward Ditmars in 1846 (born 1784), and the most recent burial was 2010. We also know that there were at least two formerly enslaved women buried in the cemetery-- Gracie Allen & "Aunt Jennie." Our church's records note that Gracie Allen (1790 - 1875) "Freed Slave of Bayles Family." While her name is in our records, we have not been able to find her headstone. It is possible that she was originally given a simple wooden marker that has succumbed to elements or that a stone one was broken.

BCN Contact Information:

Sarah Mayer, lead researcher

cranbury252@cranburypres.org

HANDLEY HILL HISTORIC AFRICAN AMERICAN CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1878

ADDITONAL NAMES: Old Ebenezer

AFFILIATION(S):

• Constellation of Living Memorials

HISTORY:

The Handley Hill historic African American cemetery was founded in 1878. The original site of the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist church and Prairie Chapel school is to the west of the burial site. The Church moved in 1944, and the last burial was 1966.

This is the highest point in Tarrant County, Texas, and was the site of the Battle for Village creek on May 24, 1841. The Texas & Pacific railroad followed the Jefferson rd, from Dallas in 1876 arriving in Fort Worth that July. The Northern Texas traction company followed in 1900 with construction of a Powerplant, and a dam which created what we call Lake Arlington Today. The Interurban was the Electric Road that ushered in the modern era of Texas history when she began daily service on July 2,1902. The Interurban operated for 33 years and transported 28 million passengers and left behind what we call the DFW METROPLEX today. This cemetery contains the African American founders and Pioneers of the STOP SIX Community of Southeast Fort Worth. Amanda Davis was the first landowner in 1896 when she purchased an acre of land for 40$. She is buried here as well as the Alonzo Cowan family, the Stalcup Family, the Elgin family, and Howard families. These are the rock upon which the New Stop Six is rising. The Community of southeast Fort Worth is very proud but has been gentrified in an attempt to erase the entire culture of Black wall Street, and the legacy that led the National Juneteenth Museum here, as Dr Opal Lee has shepherded. Last year the Friends of Handley Hill were successful in preventing the development of the surrounding parcels of land East, west, and North into a parking lot, and towing yard. Late last year the city of Arlington purchased the land, and preserving the integrity of the over 600 souls buried here. The families are also Military veterans of the Civil War, Buffalo Soldiers, World War 1, World War 2, Korea and early Viet Nam. This hallowed ground has faced unrelenting destruction for decades.

Today The Friends of Handley Hill can report the Site is secure thanks to Constellation Energy and the citizens of Arlington, Tx. The community discussion has begun on restoration.

BCN Contact Information:

The Friends of Handley Hill

smartcitytexas@gmail.com

constellationoflivingmemorials.org

LOVING CARE CEMETERY

FOUNDED: Unknown

ADDITONAL NAMES: Mount Zion Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

In the 1950’s, our parents purchased a 5-acre tract of farmland that contained a small cemetery. Eventually, our parents decided to reopen the cemetery, renaming it Loving Care Cemetery in the late 1960’s, to allow burials, as it had been one of two cemeteries (Mayberry is the other) that families living in the Seffner, Thonotosassa communities had utilized as a final resting place for their loved ones.

The oldest residents recall seeing a headstone but over time the many of the headstones and two obelisks has disappeared. The oldest headstone we have currently is for Mr. Sampson Forrester, born March 1, 1786, and passed away on November 29, 1888. With the passage of time, many of the headstones have deteriorated and some of the grave spaces cannot be identified. There are approximately 60+ people buried in Loving Care, and the owners of the cemetery frequently get requests from family members of the deceased to be buried with their loved ones.

BCN Contact Information:

Ida Booth

Idabooth@gmail.com

AFRICAN-AMERICAN ANCESTRAL BURIAL GROUND AT VALE CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1863

ADDITONAL NAMES: Vale Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

The African-American Ancestral Burial Ground at Vale Cemetery is the final resting place of abolitionists, Underground Railroad activists, advocates for African-American freedom, former slaves, war heroes, and people who were the fiber of Schenectady’s African-American community that began in the late 17th century. Vale Cemetery was established in 1857. Beginning in 1863, the African-American burial ground—formerly called the Colored Plot—was moved from Veeder Avenue to the present location. Vale Cemetery is listed as a National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Site.

Notable members of the African-American community include: Moses Viney (1817-1909), a fugitive slave from Easton, Maryland who traveled the Underground Railroad to New York in 1840. While living in Schenectady, Viney was employed by Eliphalet Nott, President of Union College, and later he established a livery business and became a respected businessman. R.P.G. Wright (1772-1847) was an advocate for the education of African-Americans and president of anti-slavery conventions in the 1840s. Corporal Jared Jackson (1840-1888) served with Company N of the 20th Regiment of Colored Troops in the Union Army during the Civil War. The Vale community hosts an annual Juneteenth celebration at the African-American Burial Ground to honor the day the last slaves were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, June 19th, 1865. The program includes a reenactment of Moses Viney’s escape from slavery.

BCN Contact Information:

Vale Cemetery Preservation, Inc.

vale@valecemetery.org

https://valecemetery.org/african-american

AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND AT HISTORIC ST. AGNES CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1867

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

The African Burial Ground at Historic St. Agnes Cemetery is the final resting place of 14 former enslaved people—6 women, 1 man, 2 children, and 5 infants. St. Agnes Cemetery was established in 1867 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. In 2005, 13 human remains were disturbed in an undocumented burial ground during a construction project in Colonie, New York. The remains were placed in the care of the New York State Museum, along with one other individual whose remains were found during a construction project in 1998. Historical and bioarchaeological studies identified the unmarked burial ground as a place once used by individuals enslaved by the prominent colonial Schuyler family, and the analysis determined that most of the individuals were of African ancestry, with one woman of mixed Native American and African ancestry. The burials date to the 1700s to the early 1800s. The area of the former Schuyler estate is known today as Schuyler Flatts and is located along the Hudson River about 5 miles north of Albany, New York. The Schuyler Flatts Burial Ground Project Committee worked with archaeologists, artists, woodworkers, and historians, creating individually decorated burial containers and a reburial ceremony to honor these individuals. In 2015, St. Agnes Cemetery donated this burial site and the Town of Colonie funded the tombstone and marker. The day before the ceremony, the burial containers with the remains laid in state at the Schuyler Mansion, a state historic site once inhabited by relatives of the estate operators. On June 18, 2016, an interdenominational memorial ceremony honored the individuals as their remains were laid to rest with dignity and respect. On June 17, 2017, a bronze plaque was dedicated to mark the Historic African Burial Ground site at Historic St. Agnes Cemetery. The original African Burial Ground site at nearby Schuyler Flatts has a historical marker describing the discovering of the remains and the reburial project.

BCN Contact Information:

Historic St. Agnes Cemetery

Info@ADCemeteries.org
https://www.albany.org/listing/historic-st-agnes-cemetery/1806/

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

GOOD HOPE CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1828

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S):

• Coconut Grove Cemetery Association

HISTORY:

The Good Hope Cemetery is a segregated cemetery located in Dozier, Alabama. In 1997, there were at least 173 known black burials in Good Hope cemetery. Good Hope cemetery is located across the street from the church, of the same name, on County Hwy 63. The Coconut Grove Cemetery Association is continuing to learn about the history of this cemetery.

BCN Contact Information:

Beverly Johnson

bevy3435@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