March 7, 2023

Update on Cemetery Marker at Belle Grove


Belle Grove in Middletown is one of those places that I keep returning to, partly because it is historical and partly because it is beautiful. History has its dark side though, and one example is that this place was built by people held in bondage.

In 2015, I posted some pictures of the site of a burial ground of enslaved people. The marker there has been revised since then, based on continuing research. It now lists the names of enslaved people known to have died on this plantation. It also describes the use of ground-penetrating radar to locate old graves, plus a diagram of where those graves are.
Text has been transcribed at HMDB.org.

5 comments:

  1. Very interesting photos, a place I would like to visit for its history alone. Important to remember our history. Important to know those names too. The barn is a lovely building.

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  2. This could probably never happen in dystopian Florida.

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  3. ...too often slave cemeteries have been paved over for parking lots.

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  4. It's good that the names of the people who died enslaved there are now written for people to see and read.

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  5. It is right to acknowledge the darker aspects of the past.

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