Fort Ward Park & Museum Advisory Group. DRAFT Chapter 3 AFRICAN AMERICAN CEMETERIES AND BURIAL SITES

Chapter 3

AFRICAN AMERICAN CEMETERIES

AND BURIAL SITES

It is a well established fact that the Anglo Saxon race has for decades been insensitive to the legacy and heritage of its African American citizenry as evidenced through the destruction and desecration of many of its post civil war cemeteries.  These are places which are to be honored and respected as they are the resting place of our ancestors, our heritage.  Putting the Oakland Baptist church cemetery aside for a minute, we’ll look at other Black cemeteries lost in our immediate area.  Right down on Washington Street in Alexandria, there’s the Freedman’s cemetery, established in 1861 for African American soldiers who fought in the Civil War and freed slaves who could not be buried in white cemeteries, with roughly 1700 burials.  Until recently, for decades, a service station, an office building, and part of a highway sat on top of it.  Then in Arlington, on Johnsons Hill, the Sheraton Hotel sits atop an African American burial ground.  I understand those remains were relocated to the Coleman Cemetery, and, of course, a road sits atop a black burial ground at the Virginia Commonwealth University. These are just a small few of the African American cemeteries which have been horribly desecrated, disrespected, dishonored and disavowed largely by or with the sanctioning of city officials, generally through eminent domain.

Immediately after the civil war ended, our Seminary and Ft Ward ancestors not only needed a place to live, but they also needed a place to bury their dead.  Lacking a formal cemetery or burial ground designated for them, they had to improvise.  The most logical place for them was on their own property.  I know for a fact that there were more burial places for the Seminary community than those on the Oakland and Jackson cemetery properties.  I know for a fact that there were graves where today the Seminary homes are located in the King, Quaker, Woods and Bishop Lane area.  So, naturally with the more than 22 acres of land at the Fort owned by the Adams and Jackson families, as well as other families, there would be plenty of graves on individual property, and most logically the formal burial ground/cemetery for the members of the Oakland Baptist Church.  The known fact that African Americans buried their dead on their own property, the realignment of the cemetery, and oral testimony are the drivers of the church and community’s assertion that there are more uncovered graves in the park.  These sacred places must be located and honored. 

Fort Ward is a historic museum and park to commemorate the Civil War.  What could be more  relevant to that commemoration than the history of the very people the war was fought to free; the people who actually lived at the park.   With the addition of literature on this African American community as well as a USCT display on exhibit in the museum, and locating and preserving the lost graves, the park would benefit through increased tourism as Alexandrians and out of town visitors sought out the park.  This literature and exhibit would enhance the civil war experience for our elementary, middle and high school students.  The Parks immediate neighbors would no longer be disturbed by loud music from those individuals using the cemetery and maintenance yard for purposes other than what they were intended for. And finally, casual and recreational visitors to the park would know which areas were open to their use, whether its dog walking, jogging, or picnicking, and which areas were historic and/or sacred ground.  

We anticipate City management for the graves at Fort Ward to consist of the following aspects.

 1.  Complete research, inventory and written record of graves within the park.

      a..  Continue and complete research to identify the location of all of the existing graves within the park.  As soon as possible, and before the development and approval of the management plan, conduct the following tasks with the money that Council approved. 1) Oral history interviews of 25-30 descendant family members with first-hand information about the people who lived, worked, worshiped and are buried at Fort Ward Historic Park; 2) Oral history interviews with past and current city employees who have first-hand information about graves within the park; and 3) More detailed research related to various official city correspondence which identifies family graves and burial areas.

We understood that this work was funded by the Mayor and City Council and is to be completed as part of this effort.  This information remains central to decisions to be made as part of the Advisory Group’s management plan.

Devise a permanent solution to eliminate water runoff in the Park and more specifically the Oakland cemetery realizing that the laying of unsightly hay bales is only a temporary measure. 

      b.  All of this information should be spatially displayed on a base map and incorporated into the development of the management plan.

2.  Short-term Actions for Graves and Cemeteries in the Park.

1. As work continues status reports on the research, identification and preservation of graves and cemeteries in the park should be posted on a regular basis to inform the public of the work.

b.   Areas that are still being investigated should be enclosed with a temporary fence.

1. Debris, including damaged picnic tables, signs, trees, unused fencing, etc. should be removed from those areas of the park within view of any existing graves and cemeteries.

3.  Possible elements of the management plan.

     a.  Removal of the fences and remaining illegal structures, and structural remains, from the   maintenance yard.

b. Create a contemplative, walking path, perhaps called the “We Are Still Here Trail”, with commemorative benches, connecting all of the known, and to be identified, family graves.  At the start of the path there should be an interpretive kiosk with fixed information and brochures about what is on the path.  Along the path, at each of the family graves there should be interpretive signs recognizing the family(s) and giving the park visitor insight about the area.  The path should be ADA compliant and of a surface that is permeable (perhaps a surface similar to the one at Huntley Meadows Park).

1. Each of the graves should be recognized with some type of marker.  Family graves should be fenced.  The selection of markers and graves should be done in cooperation with the descendant family members and city officials or their designees.  
2. Copies of the “We Are Still Here Trail” brochure should be made available to park visitors in the Fort Ward Museum.
3. The Office of Historic Alexandria and the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities should develop and agree on routine park maintenance standards, including grass cutting, tree and leaf removal, invasive plant management, and soil erosion control, for park cemeteries and grave areas. 
4. Either 1) transfer the ownership of all of the family grave areas and cemeteries to an organization to be identified by the Oakland Baptist Church and the Fort Ward and Seminary African American Descendants Society, Inc.; or 2) place a conservation/ preservation easement on the grave and cemetery areas to perpetually restrict the use of these areas to graves and cemeteries.
5. Create a memorial area to recognize the Fort Ward African American community, park graves and Oakland Baptist Church Cemetery. The area should include a memorial stone with a bronze plaque, a sculpture and a modest gathering area.  The gathering area could be a place for silent meditation or information family and church events. Possible locations include the plateau where the Shorts Family lived (Map # 9, including the McKnight and Robinson Family Grave); the homesite of Sgt. Young’s Family and the Adams, Clarke and other graves (Map #12, 13, including the Old Grave Yard, graves in the nursery area and the most recent expansion of the maintenance yard); or the level area between the Old Grave Yard and Braddock Road (Map # 11 through 18).
6. All of these actions need to be coordinated, and integrated, with the ideas being developed for park interpretation once they are completed. 

Submitted by:  Lena Rainey and Frances Terrell, October 8, 2012