SITE DIRECTORY
To learn more about any of the BCN sites listed below, click “Read more” to view individual site briefs. To search for a specific BCN site, use the search bar below:
Lake Maude Cemetery
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
I. A. Banks Memorial Park
I.A BANKS MEMORIAL PARK
FOUNDED: 1960
ADDITONAL NAMES: Osborne Municipal Cemetery
AFFILIATION(S): N/A
HISTORY:
Founded in 1885 by Samuel and Fannie James, a racially mixed couple, believed to be former slaves, staked out a homestead in what is now Lake Worth Beach. They opened the first Post Office and became the financial and social hub of their mostly white community. Americans and Bahamians settled in an unincorporated area between Lake Worth and Lantana, Florida around 1914. In 1926, the Town of Lake Worth annexed the area as the “Osborne Colored Addition”, the only section where Black people were permitted to reside because of Jim Crow segregation laws. Lake Worth’s first cemetery, Pine Crest (est. 1923), only allowed the internment of white residents. Burials of Black people had to take place in Boynton Beach, to the south or West Palm Beach to the north. In 1960, Lake Worth established the 1.5-acre Osborne Municipal Cemetery for “colored” residents. In 1983, residents successfully petitioned the city to rename Osborne Municipal Cemetery the “I. A. Banks Memorial Park” in honor of Reverend I. A. Banks (1890 – 1975), founder and 35yr., pastor of New Hope Baptist Church, located diagonally across the street.
When the original caretaker of I.A. Banks Cemetery, David U. Millines, Sr. (b1932- ) took care of the grounds, there were never signs posted or a need to discuss upkeep of the cemetery. There seemed to be an unwritten rule that the cemetery was off limits for disrespect in any form.
Since then, residents have become distraught over growing crime and vagrancy where graves have been desecrated. The Osborne community appealed to the city commission time and again for approval of funding to surround the site with a fence. Local advocacy organized a peaceful protest in September 2023, where residents from across the city gathered to create a 'human chain' holding hands around the cemetery, chanting "rest in peace". Through the efforts of residents and Lake Worth Beach District 1 Commissioner Sarah Malega, the budget was finally approved in May 2024.
The cemetery contains 1.5 acres with an area reserved for veterans. To date, there have been 262 burials.
BCN Contact Information:
Delores Brown
Browndfla@aol.com
Crystal Memorial Gardens Cemetery
Crystal Memorial Gardens Cemetery
FOUNDED: 1880s
ADDITONAL NAMES: Crystal River African-American Memorial Gardens
AFFILIATION(S): N/A
HISTORY:
Crystal Memorial Gardens is a historic cemetery and was formerly known as Crystal River African American Memorial Gardens. Crystal Memorial Gardens cemetery was originally belonged to Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church, which was founded on October 4, 1884. Mt. Olive MBC is the oldest black church and the second oldest church in Citrus County, Florida.
Mt. Olive Missionary MBC deeded the Crystal Memorial Gardens Cemetery to the "Community" in 1976. A community-based Board of Directors was created to operate the cemetery that is still in place today.
BCN Contact Information:
Andrea K. McCray
friendsofcmgcemetery@gmail.com
DAVIS MEMORIAL CEMETERY
DAVIS MEMORIAL CEMETERY
FOUNDED: 1956
ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A
AFFILIATION(S): N/A
HISTORY:
A BRIEF TIMELINE OF DAVIS MEMORIAL CEMETERY (DMC)
1880: William Henry Maxwell arrives in Titusville, FL.
1925: W. H. Maxwell was successful in the citrus industry & acquired DMC property.
1952: Edward D. Davis, Jr., inherited properties from W. H. Maxwell.
1956: Edward D. Davis, Jr., established over 3 acres as Davis Cemetery for the black community.
1968: City resolution established and named right of way, Davis Place.
1969: Davis Cemetery renamed Davis Memorial Cemetery.
1969-1987: Charles G. Davis managed DMC until his passing.
1987-2012: Rita M. Davis managed DMC until her passing.
2012-Present: Kirk A. Davis began tenure as DMC general manager.
2018: Netflix's Last Chance U featured THS football player's homage to a fallen teammate.
2019: Held first community flag ceremony for deceased veterans.
2022: DMC added to historic Florida Master Site File, BR04482 .
2022: Held first "Wreaths Across America" ceremony.
DMC was one of two cemeteries for African Americans in Titusville, FL, during the "post-Reconstruction" and "Jim Crow Era". Black pioneer families (circa 1873) and their descendants, pastors, clergy, educators aerospace workers and local sports heroes.
BCN Contact Information:
Kirk A. Davis
dstarrs3740@gmail.com
Historic Oaklynn Cemetery
HISTORIC OAKLYNN CEMETERY
FOUNDED: 1926
ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A
AFFILIATION(S): N/A
HISTORY:
Oaklynn Cemetery, in Edgewater, is a place that comes in and out of the news every decade or so. It is the resting place of many early to mid-20th century African Americans in this southern Volusia County city. The records for the cemetery are lost, so the exact number of those interred is impossible to know. The cemetery measures about 6 acres, but only one acre is accessible thanks to the cleanup efforts of the descendants and volunteers who have come forward.
The last burial was in 1969. At that time, the owner closed the cemetery with barbed wire and turned cattle loose among the graves. Those who had family buried there were not aware that by law they were entitled to maintain their family plots. And so the graves fell victim to robbers, vandals and the harsh Florida weather. And those who owned lots were unable to use them for any further burials.
BCN Contact Information:
Gwen Tobler
humblegwen@gmail.com
ST. MATTHEWS BAPTIST CHURCH CEMETERY
ST. MATTHEWS BAPTIST CHURCH CEMETERY
FOUNDED: Early 1900s - 1940s
ADDITONAL NAMES: None
AFFILIATION(S):
Clearwater African American Cemeteries Memorial Committee
HISTORY:
St. Matthew Baptist Church Cemetery (located under the CRUM parking lot in Clearwater, Florida) was created in Clearwater Heights. The community is no longer viable, however the City of Clearwater Commission approved an annexation allowing construction over the cemetery to make way for Montgomery Wards department store in the early 1960's. All bodies were supposed to have been relocated to the cemetery in North Greenwood; however, as current Cardno ground truthing has proven, many bodies are still buried on the site. The City of Clearwater Commission also approved annexation allowing Palmetto Elementary School (also in Clearwater, FL) to be built over the North Greenwood Cemetery. Palmetto Elementary opened its doors in 1964. Current Ground Truthing performed by Cardno reveals not all bodies were moved.
BCN Contact Information:
Barbara Sorey Love
stpetebulletin@gmail.com
Ridgewood Cemetery
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
Rose Cemetery
ROSE CEMETERY
FOUNDED: 1904
LOCATION: Tarpon Springs, FL
AFFILIATION(S):
The African American Cemetery Alliance of Tampa Bay
HISTORY:
The Rose Hill Cemetery serves as the largest intact segregated African American cemetery in Pinellas County, Florida. Established in the early twentieth-century, the cemetery reflects the trials and triumphs of the Tarpon Springs African American community from the Civil War through current day. Home to nineteenth-century black hook spongers, community leaders, military veterans, and civil rights activists, the cemetery provides teachers and students with a unique opportunity to explore Afro-Caribbean and African American hidden stories and experiences in Florida.
RESOURCE LINKS:
BCN Contact Information:
Shannon Peck-Bartle
speck@usf.edu
Whispering Souls African American Cemetery (WSAAC)
WHISPERING SOULS
AFRICAN AMERICAN CEMETERY
(WSAAC)
FOUNDED: 1896
LOCATION: Clearwater, FL
AFFILIATION(S):
The African American Cemetery Alliance of Tampa Bay
HISTORY:
This 3/4 acre site is located in the middle of a residential subdivision. There are 20 visible markers - the oldest dated 1896 and 3 marking U.S. veterans - but estimates are that there are 130 burials at the site. A 2018 GPR survey has identified at least 90 possible burials and more anomalies. The firm history of the site is that it is on land near Safety Harbor that in the 1800s belonged to the pioneer McMullen family. Subsequent ownership includes the Coachman family in the early 1900s and, eventually, the Ehle family in the 1940s. The Ehles partitioned their acquisition into lots for residential development, but reserved Lot 15 - site of the current cemetery - which they deeded to a Safety Harbor African American fraternal organization in 1951, and the cemetery has been left undeveloped since. We do not know - and may never know - if the original cemetery extends beyond the deed lines of Lot 15, i.e., whether surrounding residences sit atop graves. The site has gone by the names "Safety Harbor Colored Cemetery" and "Helping Hands Cemetery" (for the fraternal organization deeded the site). Over the years, a group of Safety Harbor residents managed informal care for the site and in 2017, a new group of volunteers organized for more comprehensive care of the site. It was this 2017 group that gave the site its current name, "Whispering Souls African American Cemetery," and formed a NPO to formalize care for the site and assure its preservation from development for the African American community.
RESOURCE LINKS:
BCN Contact Information:
Jacqueline Hayes, WSAAC Board President
h.jacqueline40@yahoo.com
Zion Cemetery
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/
Moffett Cemetery
MOFFETT CEMETERY
FOUNDED: 1888
ADDITONAL NAMES: St. Petersburg Cemetery
AFFILIATION(S):
The African American Cemetery Alliance of Tampa Bay
University of South Florida
HISTORY:
Moffett Cemetery was founded in 1888 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Originally designated for Civil War veterans, Moffett Cemetery was later used for African American burials. Moffett cemetery, as well as neighboring Evergreen and Oaklawn cemeteries, operated until 1926 when all three properties were closed and condemned by order of city officials. Per city ordinance, persons buried at Oaklawn, Evergreen and Moffett cemeteries were to be relocated based on race, with African Americans moved to Lincoln Cemetery and whites moved to Royal Palm Cemetery. The site now sits beneath the interstate which leads in and out of downtown St. Petersburg.
BCN Contact Information:
Antoinette Jackson
atjackson@usf.edu
https://heritagelab.org/
Oaklawn Cemetery
OAKLAWN CEMETERY
FOUNDED: 1905
LOCATION: St. Petersburg, FL
AFFILIATION(S):
The African American Alliance of Tampa Bay
University of South Florida
HISTORY:
The former site of Oaklawn Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Florida is located on land which now serves as VIP Lot 1 parking lot at Tropicana Field. The site was segregated by section after neighboring Evergreen Cemetery (designated for African American burials) required space to expand. The cemetery operated until 1926 when it was decided by city officials to close and condemn the Oaklawn site, as well as nearby Moffett and Evergreen cemeteries. Per city ordinance, persons buried at Oaklawn were to be relocated based on race, with African Americans moved to Lincoln Cemetery and whites moved to Royal Palm Cemetery.
BCN Contact Information:
Antoinette Jackson
atjackson@usf.edu
https://heritagelab.org/
Evergreen Cemetery
EVERGREEN CEMETERY
Click here for full site brief
FOUNDED: 1905
LOCATION: St. Petersburg, FL
AFFILIATION(S):
The African American Cemetery Alliance of Tampa Bay
University of South Florida
HISTORY:
The former site of Evergreen Cemetery was established in 1905 in St. Petersburg, Florida. As a segregated cemetery, the site was designated specifically for African American burials until such time that expansion into neighboring Oaklawn cemetery (segregated by section) was required. Both Evergreen and Oaklawn sites, as well as Moffett cemetery, operated until 1926 when all three properties were closed and condemned by order of city officials. Per city ordinance, persons buried at Evergreen, Oaklawn, and Moffett cemeteries were to be relocated based on race, with African Americans moved to Lincoln Cemetery and whites moved to Royal Palm Cemetery. The site now sits underneath interstate 175, one of the cities main thoroughfares.
BCN Contact Information:
Antoinette Jackson
atjackson@usf.edu
http://heritagelab.org