Which of these are African American Burial Grounds?
If you guessed all of them....you are right. There are five African American burial grounds/cemeteries represented in these photos. They are: the Soxman slave cemetery, the Mt. Jackson Colored Cemetery, a slave burial ground on Rt. 11, possibly associated with the Pickering Plantation, Riverview Cemetery in Woodstock, VA and two documented enslaved boys are buried along a fence of what was part of the Williamson or West plantations.
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Virginia Historical African American Cemetery and Graves Fund
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DeLois Warr; Mt. Jackson, VAWithout the work of Mrs. DeLois Warr the Mount Jackson Colored Cemetery would still be lost in overgrown weeds. Her speaking up for the cemetery and the other lost cemeteries in Shenandoah County has led to their recognition and in several cases, saving. Working with then Mayor Williams and historian D. Warrick Burrus II, the funds for the cleanup, fence and monument for the cemetery were raised. In 2003 she received an award from the Sons of the Confederates and her work has been recognized by several other groups. I am happy to add her research to the website, which I will be doing over the next several weeks. Watch a short video of DeLois talking about the cemetery on our Videos page /video--audio.html
DeLois's family were taught by Mary Fairfax in the early 1930's. You can listen to the Mary Awkard Fairfax audio on Photos, Audio & Maps page, /photos.html to hear about those years. Many thanks to Mrs. DeLois Warr for her great work! |
Woodbine Cemetery in Harrisonburg, VAPhotos by Rosemarie Palmer
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The Corhaven Graveyard Project, Quicksburg, VA
The Corhaven Graveyard Project in Quicksburg, Virginia is inspirational. A group of volunteers recovering and identifying the graves in this slave cemetery. I was able to visit the group when they first started to uncover the graves. They worked so hard and have done an amazing job in restoring and honoring this cemetery. We know it will lead to similar research and recovery in Shenandoah County. You can go to inthecoracle.org/what-we-do/slave-cemetery-at-corhaven/ to learn more.
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Photos and a short video taken at the Dedication Service.
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Charity L. Derrow's "The Barrenness of a Cemetery; Examining Patterns of the Fragmented African-American Community in Broadway, Virginia" Thank you Charity!
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www.valleyblackheritage.org; Director (540 746-2088), directormlr@valleyblackheritage.org; Mailing address: SVBHP, 425 Hill St., Harrisonburg, VA 22802
EIN 81-1709430
EIN 81-1709430