Whispering Souls African American Cemetery (WSAAC)
Founded: 1896
Location: Clearwater, FL
Additional name(s): None
Affiliate group(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.
BCN Contact Information:
Jacqueline Hayes, WSAAC Board President
h.jacqueline40@yahoo.com
