After the Civil War, freedmen formed communities all around the South. Near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the Cemetery community received its name because of its location next to Stones River National Cemetery. Retired members of the United States Colored Troops chose to live in the area alongside newly freed men and women after the federal government decided to build one of the national cemeteries in this area, which would provide jobs for those who helped create and maintain the cemetery.
Founded in 1874, the Cemetery School educated local schoolchildren until 1962. The first school was used until 1945 when the new building seen above was built. The Cemetery School was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.
Alex Haley was born in Ithaca, New York, in 1921. Very early, he moved with his family to his maternal grandparents’ house in Henning, Tennessee. This 1918 American Craftsman served as a home base for the family for the next five years. It is also where Haley would hear the stories of his ancestors and other relatives. These stories inspired him to write Roots
The home was initially known as the WE Palmer because his grandfather was a successful businessman in town, and he built the home. The home was fully restored, and the furniture used by the family is in the house. The house was put in the National Re
Mount Ararat Cemetery was the first burial ground for Black citizens in Nashville, Tennessee. Opened in April 1869, the property was purchased for $5,000 by the Colored Sons of Relief Number One and the Colored Benevolent Society.
Over 15,000 burials are in the cemetery. Many of these are unmarked, but some markers showcase the wealth and prominence of some of the individuals.
Matilda Mulligan, d. 1883Dr. Robert Boyd (1855-1912) was a doctor educated at Meharry Medical College. He became a prominent citizen in Nashville and was considered an accomplished physician when he died. Lucia Harris (1837-1909) and Sarah Jones (1857-1888)The Nelson Merry Memorial Association erected the marker of Rev. Nelson Merry (1824-1884), founder of First Colored Baptist Church on Spruce Street, now known as First Baptist Street Capitol Hill.The sculpture of Rev. Merry on his obelisk makes it the most prominent marker in the cemetery. If you look closely on the right, you can see the outline of a cicada. Photographing the cemetery with thousands of flying cicadas was challenging.The vernacular marker of Jennetta HomanThe Victorian-influenced marker of Cora Haynes (1867-1889)May 17, 1929 announcement in the Nashville Banner
The Durham’s Chapel School was one of seven Rosenwald schools built in Sumner County, Tennessee. It was tied to the Durham’s Chapel Baptist Church. The school was constructed at $4,250; the Rosenwald Fund provided $700, and the remaining amount was divided between the local Black community and the Tennessee public school funds.
The school is a traditional two-teacher classroom with an additional industrial arts room. Built in 1923, upgrades were made to the school after Brown v. Board of Education with a stove, refrigerator, and kitchen sink.
It was places on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. The school was restored in 2012 at the cost of $40,000.
The hallmark of Stamps Cemetery is the comb graves or tent graves. It’s one of several cemeteries in the South that contain this vernacular form of a grave marker that forms this pyramid shape. They are found almost exclusively in the Appalachian Mountains, most of them in Tennessee. The reason why they were built this way is not known, but it is suspected that Scottish-Irish burial traditions influenced them. It is also speculated that they served a more practical purpose of protecting the graves from wandering livestock.
The grave of Sanford Stamps is a collection of folk influences. There is the tent grave covering, the star, and this headstone form called head and shoulders or discoid.
One interesting aspect of this cemetery that differentiates it from other cemeteries with comb graves is that some headstones have a five-pointed star. A star can represent the crucifixion, the star of Bethlehem, or Christianity. Since some of the stars are inverted downwards, some believe it’s a pentagram. Consequently, the cemetery became known as “The Witch’s Graveyard.” I am more apt to believe it was done because there was a limited understanding of how the star should be drawn, or they were embracing the idea that a point facing downward symbolized Jesus descending upon Earth as the North rose.
“The blessed babe of E. N. Henry was born Januar 27, 1871. Died March 7, 1871.”I often find money on headstones, but its almost exclusively on veterans’s headstones. There were coins on almost all of thencimb graves. To the memory of Mary A. Neal, 1846-1884. The headstone contains a star.
The Mollie Fontaine Taylor House was built in 1886 as a wedding gift from her father, Noland Fontaine Sr., upon her marriage to Dr. William Wood Taylor. It was built across the street from the Fontaine home. Mollie and William lived with her parents until the Victorian house was finished in 1890. Mollie lived in the house until her death.
The home is modest compared to the remaining homes in the Victorian Village. Located on Adams Avenue, the street was once known as Millionaire’s Row because of the number of palatial homes on it. In the 1960s, it became a notorious party house. It is now the Mollie Fontaine Lounge.
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