PLEASANT POINT CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1880s

ADDITIONAL NAMES: Woodlawn Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

Pleasant Point Cemetery, also known as Woodlawn, is located approximately 50 miles southwest of Jacksonville, Florida, on the west side of the St. Johns River, just outside Green Cove Springs. It lies off County Road 209 (30.16592 N, 81.699639 W). The cemetery covers an area of 1.4 acres.

Currently, 15 monuments are visible as restoration continues, with hopes of completion by Christmas 2025. When the project began in October 2024, only six individuals had been identified as being buried at Pleasant Point. Today, 40 individuals  have been identified, with records available on Find a Grave.

Founded in the 1880s, the cemetery served the community of Magnolia, a free Black settlement. In the 1850s, Magnolia became a stronghold for Northern abolitionists and was later occupied by Union troops during the Civil War. After the war, the Magnolia Springs Hotel temporarily housed the Freedmen’s Bureau and an orphanage for Black children.

The land itself has a longer history: originally part of British Governor Patrick Tonyn’s 1,000-acre indigo plantation, it was granted to Thomas Travers in 1789 through a Spanish land grant.

Those laid to rest at Pleasant Point include members of the Forrester family, the first free Black family in Clay County, Florida, as well as Pizel Robinson and Mary Ambrose Robinson, great-grandparents of renowned entertainer Patti LaBelle. Civil War veteran George Forrester is interred there, along with three other veterans. Many others buried in the cemetery were prominent members of the community, including several Freemasons.

Pleasant Point Cemetery stands today as the last surviving link to a once-thriving community that endured the Civil War, Reconstruction, and decades of oppression.

BCN Contact Information:

Steve Griffith

ussgriffy@gmail.com

FAIRVIEW CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1858

ADDITONAL NAMES: New Hope Cemetery (an expansion of Fairview Cemetery)

AFFILIATION(S):

• Clay County African American Legacy

HISTORY:

In 1858, the city of Liberty established Fairview Cemetery. As was common at the time, a “less desirable” area of the cemetery was designated for the burial of those of African descent. In this 6 acre plot of land, there are over 750 confirmed Black people buried but it is estimated that there are over 1,000. Most persons went from cradle to grave in segregation, with the injustice following them into their burial. The cemetery is on a piece of land that slopes from west to east and the segregated burial ground is at the bottom of the incline, backing right up to a creek. Because of this, the land continues to suffer from flooding and erosion, and the secluded area made it a prime target for grave robbing and vandalism. Persons who were enslaved, domestic staff, day laborers, housewives, infants and children, businessmen, war veterans, and more are buried in this hallowed ground. There are some headstones scattered throughout, but most are for more recent burials. While it is likely temporary place markers were left at the time of burial, the majority of the graves are without a headstone. The Black members of the community were essential to building the town of Liberty, and during segregation, they established their own businesses, churches, and the only school in the area available for children of African descent. These individuals are buried in mostly unmarked graves and we are working together as a community to honor them in their final resting place.

BCN Contact Information:

Jaclyn Kaiser

info@libertylegacymemorial.org

www.libertylegacymemorial.org