MEMORIAL PARK CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1919

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

Established in 1919, Memorial Park Cemetery is one of the oldest Black American cemeteries in Tampa. The 20-acre cemetery, located in East Tampa, holds over 6,000 burials, although the exact number is unknown. Throughout Memorial Park there are reminders of those who lived, served, and died in the city, from war veterans to the factory workers who made Tampa the Cigar Capital of the World.

In 1923, the southwest portion of Memorial Park Cemetery was dedicated to Black American veterans. This area is marked with the Florida Negro World War Veterans Memorial, and it was funded through the cooperation of the American Legion Women’s Auxiliary and the Booker Washington branch of the Tampa Chapter, American Red Cross. The dedication of this portion of the cemetery was marked with services held by the Tampa Urban League on Memorial Day. At that time, burial space for Black Americans was limited largely to cemeteries outside the city limits of Tampa. The cemetery includes at least one veteran of the American Civil War. Veterans from nearly each 20th century war America participated are interned at Memorial Park Cemetery, representing over 150 years of American military history.

BCN Contact Information:

Tampa Parks and Recreation Department

neris.reyero@tampagov.net

https://www.tampa.gov/parks-and-recreation/parks-and-facilities

KEYSTONE/CITRUS PARK CEMETERY

FOUNDED: Between 1870-1900

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S): N/A

HISTORY:

This cemetery sits on a property that was once owned by my enslaved great-great-great grandfather Harry Lewis and his son Tony Lewis, who was born free. It was the site of the original Mt. Pleasant A.M.E Church which burned down under a suspicious fire. The church also served as a school for the freed children and the cemetery was operated on the same grounds. Official marriage certificates show related nuptials were held there the same year the Mt. Pleasant AME Church was founded in 1901. The burial grounds are adjacent to the current Mt Pleasant AME Church which was built in the early 1950’s. The burial grounds also stretch to the back of the historical Citrus Park Colored School which rest on land donated by my late great-great grandmother, Barbara Hamilton Allen. Barbara was a widow, mother, grandmother, businesswoman, citrus grower and matriarch of the black community in the Odessa/Keystone Park and Citrus Park area.

BCN Contact Information:

Michele Houston Hicks

gmhoustonhicks2021@gmail.com

WIMAUMA MEMORIAL CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1906 (Legal) but dates back to 1860 - 80’s

ADDITONAL NAMES: None

AFFILIATION(S): None

HISTORY:

The First Baptist Missionary Church and Cemetery was established in 1878, just thirteen short years after the abolishment of slavery in 1865. Prior to its official establishment, the cemetery was primarily a potter’s fields for the enslaved field workers and railroad workers. We know this because, at the time of its official establishment, there was around 129+ existing graves. Some of these cemetery residents die natural deaths, some from sickness, some by horrible and vicious means inflicted by racists individuals and groups. These neglected African Americans includes United States Military Veterans, ordinary men, women and children who deserve to be honored and their final resting places should be protected from modern day development expansions encroaching in this immediate area. The Church changed its name to First Prospect Missionary Baptist Church and the Cemetery, and the cemetery is now known as the Wimauma Cemetery. This name will be changed to the Wimauma Heritage Cemetery in July, 2022. Descendent of these hard-working men and women still lives in the Wimauma community and, as their ancestors, they are also laid to rest in this historic and holy cemetery grounds.

BCN Contact Information:

Rev. Dr. Doris Barron-Shell

barron8933@icloud.com

RIDGEWOOD CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1942

LOCATION: Tampa, FL

AFFILIATION(S):

• The African American Cemetery Alliance of Tampa Bay

HISTORY:

Ridgewood Cemetery was established in 1942 and later purchased by the City of Tampa in 1959. The site is located on the grounds of King High School in Tampa, FL. A 2019 GPR assessment of the area revealed 145 unmarked graves on the property, though further evidence suggests there may be as many as 250.

BCN Contact Information:

Shannon Peck-Bartle

speck@usf.edu

ZION CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1901

LOCATION: Tampa, FL

AFFILIATION(S):

• The African American Cemetery Alliance of Tampa Bay

• University of South Florida

HISTORY:

Zion cemetery is the oldest African American cemetery in Tampa. The site currently sits underneath Robles Park Housing Complex which is undergoing archaeological excavation.

BCN Contact Information:

Antoinette Jackson

atjackson@usf.edu

https://heritagelab.org/