Cherry Hill Cemetery

Cherry Hill Cemetery (HMLXH)

Location: Woodlawn, MD 20737 Prince George's County
Buy Maryland State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 38° 57.335', W 76° 54.058'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 435 views
Inscription

An African American Burial Ground

Cherry Hill Cemetery is an African American burial ground established in 1884 by Josiah Adams. Before emancipation, Adams lived and worked as a free man at the Calvert Family's plantation, Riversdale. Census records between 1840 and 1870 list Josiah as a laborer, manager, and gardener. In addition to the graves of the Josiah Adams family, members of other local African American families, including the Beckett and Plummer families are buried here.

With burials from 1884 through the 1940s, Cherry Hill Cemetery is significant as the only intact African American family burial ground in the Riverdale-Bladensburg-Hyattsville area. Graves are marked with pieces of local ironstone and yucca plants. The use of local stones and plants as grave markers is common in African American burial grounds and thought to have its origins in Africa.

"... I direct that my body be decently interred in the graveyard set apart on lot number two on the annexed plat of my land according to Christian rites and ceremonies and that my funeral be conducted in a manner corresponding with my estate and situation in life."
Josiah Adams - Last will and Testament - August 1884
Cemetery [highlighted] on an 1884 plat of Josiah Adams' farm.


[Illustration captions:]

[Upper right:]
Josiah Adams is listed in the 1880s census as a farmer. He accumulated 50 acres of land between 1871-1883, reserving a small plot to be used as a burial ground for his extended family. The remainder was divided among his family and heirs as farmland.

[Page from the 1880 U.S. Census, highlighting Josiah Adams, his family and laborers.]

[Lower left:]
Graves in many historic African American cemeteries are marked with plants, such as yuccas and trees, a tradition believed to have derived from African spiritual beliefs. Yucca plants once outlined the entrance to Cherry Hill Cemetery

"Yucca": engraving by Georg Dionysius Ehert, 1750.

[Photo: Iron stone grave markers and yucca plants.]
Details
HM NumberHMLXH
Tags
Placed ByMaryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, October 9th, 2014 at 6:57am PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 335282 N 4313565
Decimal Degrees38.95558333, -76.90096667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 38° 57.335', W 76° 54.058'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds38° 57' 20.10" N, 76° 54' 3.48" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)301, 202, 240
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 6819 Ingraham St, Woodlawn MD 20737, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Nearby Markersshow on map
Water
1.64 miles
Greenbelt Park
1.64 miles
Greenbelt: A Bold Experiment
1.64 miles
Riverdale School
1.67 miles
The Riversdale Dependency
1.67 miles
Riverdale Park
1.67 miles
This Demiculverin
1.69 miles
Signs of War
1.72 miles
Welcome to Riversdale
1.73 miles
Adam F. Plummer
1.8 miles
Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. What year was the marker erected?
  9. This marker needs at least one picture.
  10. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  11. Is the marker in the median?