TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Some of Tallahassee\u2019s oldest cemeteries are falling into disrepair. <\/p>\n
Residents worry some of the city\u2019s most uncomfortable history, possibly including enslaved people buried there, could be lost. <\/p>\n
This year, new efforts are underway to preserve it. <\/p>\n
The Williams-Crews cemetery is a challenge to find. It\u2019s not on Google or Apple maps and there is no address or historical marker. The area can be described as a jungle. <\/p>\n
Ronald Morris remembers hearing rumors of haunted graves in the night and odd spirits as a kid. The cemetery used to be used as a pass through for children to get to Jake Gaither Park. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis graveyard was established in 1829. That\u2019s only four years (older) than the city of Tallahassee itself,\u201d Morris said. \u201cSo, I\u2019m pretty sure this where some slaves and a lot of Black people back before the South Side Cemetery over here by the airport were buried at.\u201d <\/p>\n
Morris and his wife, Shari, are calling for the community\u2019s help to memorialize this cemetery, which they say almost certainly contains the graves of the formerly enslaved. <\/p>\n
More Tallahassee news: <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very important that we preserve our history to take the bandaid off the gaping wound and bring some healing to the area,\u201d Shari Morris said.<\/p>\n
The name of the cemetery is only on some maps. Ronald Morris says the Williams-Crews cemetery used to house about two hundred graves; now, just five or six headstones are visible.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, the shape of it, nobody has the money to clean this up. It would take some state funding, some grants or something to get this to where it should be,\u201d said Ronald Morris.<\/p>\n
Property records show the cemetery is owned by the Fountain Chapel AME Church. The Morris\u2019s say it will take a full community effort to restore the place.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s put this together. Let\u2019s put up a beautiful monument where not only will it be a great softball park, but it\u2019ll also be a great historical area as well,\u201d said Shari Morris.<\/p>\n
Ronald Morris is especially invested in this cemetery because his grandmother had 16 kids. About half of them died at or near childbirth and are likely buried there.<\/p>\n
But, they say this is bigger than any one cemetery, and that Tallahassee\u2019s history with slavery and segregation needs to be restored. <\/p>\n
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