Evergreen Memorial Cemetery (Miami, Florida)

Evergreen Memorial Cemetery is a cemetery in Miami, Florida. The historically Black cemetery is in the Allapattah neighborhood and is bound by NW 43rd Terrace to the north, NW 41 Street to the south and NW 31st avenue to the west. It is one of the oldest cemeteries for African Americans in Miami-Dade County.[1]

History

In July 1913, T. O. Wilson, N. M. Hart, and Clifton D. Benson published a notice of their intention to apply for letters patent for the Evergreen Cemetery Company.[2] In September of that year, a newspaper ad announced that construction on the Evergreen Cemetery for Colored People was to begin in two days on 29 September and a trust fund was to be established for perpetual care.[3] In 1928, T. O. Wilson was still the President of the cemetery and J. E. Junkin, its Vice-President.[4]

However, it was not until 1932 that the cemetery was reportedly certified as a cemetery.[5]

The cemetery was owned by undertaker, Benjamin Solomon[6] when he died in 1937.[7] After his death, his wife Capitola sold the cemetery to Tropical Home Builders.[6] In 1976, the cemetery was donated by a law firm to the Greater Tabernacle Baptist Church.[6] It was sold to Iowan, John Wagoner, in 1989.[6] In 1990, it was purchased by Molly and Bernard Zaminsky.[6] After the pair filed for bankruptcy, it was purchased in 1994 by Garth Reeves,[5] the editor of the Miami Times[6][8] who had been interested in buying the cemetery since as early as 1983.[9]

In 1991, the cemetery was designated an historical site.[5]

Burials

Most of the deceased are interred in above-ground vaults.[1] A number of African-American police officers are buried at the cemetery, including Victor Butler Jr, Johnnie Young, one of the city's first black cops, and Simmons Arrington.[10][11] Lincoln Memorial Park, another cemetery for African Americans, opened in 1924 several blocks away.[8]

The cemetery was adjacent to land owned by the Dade County School Board and, in 1980, the school board discovered that a local mortician was burying bodies on the school board's land rather than on cemetery land.[12] At the time, the cemetery was almost at capacity.[12] However, in 1983, burials were still taking place in the cemetery.[9]

Problems

At times, the cemetery has suffered from reports of poor upkeep.[9] The issues are not unique to the cemetery, with city councils taking over the upkeep of some old historical cemeteries.[13]

In recent years, Evergreen has also been a target for vandals.[6][13][14]

References

  1. ^ a b "Evergreen Park Cemetery in Miami, FL". Visit Florida.
  2. ^ Notice of Intention to Apply for Letters Patent. Miami Daily Metropolis. 29 July 1913. p 2
  3. ^ "Colored Cemetery". The Miami Metropolis. 27 Sep 1913. p. 7. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  4. ^ Polk's Miami and Miami Beach (Florida) City Directory. 1928.
  5. ^ a b c Bowling, Nakia. "Evergreen Memorial Park Cemetery: Preserving it Should be a Community Effort". The Miami Times. pp. 1A, 4A. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Osborne, Tariq (25 March 1961). "Grave Robbers: Graveyard Vandalism Remains a Concern". The Miami Times. pp. 1A, 4A. Retrieved 11 November 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Negro Undertaker Dies at Home Here". Miami Tribune. 5 July 1937. Retrieved 13 Nov 2025 – via newspapers.com. Burial will be at Evergreen cemetery in Miami, Solomon's own burial park.
  8. ^ a b Robertson, Linda (June 6, 2018). "Grave robbers steal bones from Miami's historic cemeteries". Miami Herald.
  9. ^ a b c Jones, Bonita (10 Nov 1983). "Relatives and Cemetery Manager Blame Each Other". The Miami Times. p. 16. Retrieved 11 Nov 2025. But a woman whose uncle was buried there two weeks ago believes it is the fault of the cemetery. "The condition of Evergreen Cemetery is deplorable. There is no reason for the filth, overgrown weeds, piled dead wreaths and garbage to be all over the grounds other than not caring,"
  10. ^ Wilbanks, William (August 25, 1996). Forgotten Heroes: Police Officers Killed in Dade County, 1895-1995. Turner Publishing Company. ISBN 9781563112874 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ Rabin, Charles (10 May 2021). "Grave of Black Rookie Cop Killed 40 Years Ago Found". The Miami Herald. pp. 1A, 6A. Retrieved 12 November 2025 – via newspapers.com. Johnnie Young was 33 and one of Miami's first Black sworn police officers when he was killed in the line of duty on May 7, 1947.
  12. ^ a b "School Board Cemetery Land may become Potter's Field". Miami Times. January 10, 1980. p. 3. Retrieved 11 Nov 2025.
  13. ^ a b Beras, Erika (19 October 2007). "Grave Indignity: Family Finds Loved One's Grave Desecrated at Historic Cemetery". The Miami Herald. pp. 1B, 2B, 5B. Retrieved 12 November 2025 – via newspapers.com. Old news reports say Evergreen Memorial was cer-tified as a cemetery in 1932, although local lore holds that the area served as a burial ground long before that. In 1932, there was no state regulation of black cemeteries and no mechanism for ensuring their long-term care.
  14. ^ Layron Livingstone (13 March 2024). Residents demand action for 'neglected' Miami-Dade cemetery. Miami: WPLG Local 10. Retrieved 11 November 2025.

25°48′50″N 80°14′44″W / 25.81389°N 80.24556°W / 25.81389; -80.24556

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