The Miami City Cemetery is a historic
cemetery
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It is located at 1800 Northeast 2nd Avenue. On January 4, 1989, it was added to the
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
History
Miami city cemetery was located one-half mile north of the city limits on a narrow wagon track county road. The first burial, not recorded, was of an elderly black man on July 14, 1897. The first recorded burial was a white man named Graham Branscomb, a 24-year-old Englishman who died on July 20, 1897 from consumption. The city of Miami cemetery is subdivided with whites on the east end and the blacks population on the west end.
Blacks provided the primary labor force for building of Miami but were confined by clauses in land deeds to the north west section of Miami now known as
Overtown In 1915, the Beth David congregation began a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
section. Two other prominent sections are the circles: the first to
Julia Tuttle
Julia DeForest Tuttle (née Sturtevant; January 22, 1849 – September 14, 1898) was an American businesswoman who owned the property upon which Miami, Florida, was built. For this reason, she is called the "Mother of Miami." She is the only woma ...
, the "Mother of Miami" buried in 1898; the second, a memorial to the Confederate Dead erected by the United
Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, ...
. Sixty-six
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
and twenty-seven Union veterans are buried here. Other sections include a Catholic section, American Legion,
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
, and two military sections along the north and south fence lines. Among the 9,000 burials are pioneer families such as the
Burdines
Burdines (} ) was an American chain of department stores operating in the state of Florida, headquartered in Miami. The original store opened in Bartow, Florida in 1896 as a carriage-trade shop. Over its nearly 110-year history, Burdines grew i ...
, Peacocks and Dr. James Jackson. This site has the only known five
oolitic (limestone) gravestone worldwide. These and the unique tropical plants make this a tropical oasis.
The Miami City Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries where the owners of the plot actually hold a deed to the land where the plot is situated. Approximately 1,000 open plots remain within the City Cemetery but to be buried there the criteria are strict. One must be either the deed holder or able to prove familial relationship to the owner. Friends of the family are not allowed. Currently between 10 and 20 burials occur every year at the City Cemetery.
The Miami City Cemetery
[City of Miami cemetery designation report 3/1/83] is the oldest cemetery and is the first and only municipal cemetery in Miami-Dade County. The cemetery is the resting place for members of many important pioneer families in the City of Miami. Some of these pioneers are known to us by their history and their grave sites. As a result, the headstone and the classical mausoleums embellish the only site associated with many of these individuals.
In 1997 Enid Pinkney and Penny Lambeth began a restoration project of the cemetery. It has been a major transformation.
Notable burials
*
Julia Tuttle
Julia DeForest Tuttle (née Sturtevant; January 22, 1849 – September 14, 1898) was an American businesswoman who owned the property upon which Miami, Florida, was built. For this reason, she is called the "Mother of Miami." She is the only woma ...
(1848–1898) – The "Mother of Miami."
*
John Sewell
John Sewell (born December 8, 1940) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as the 58th mayor of Toronto from 1978 to 1980.
Background
Born and raised in the Beach neighbourhood, in Toronto, Sewell attended Malvern Collegiate Institute ...
(1867–1938) – third Mayor of the
City of Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at t ...
.
Gallery
File:Miami City Cemetery (4).jpg, Gravesites and memorials
File:Miami City Cemetery (8).jpg, Jewish section
File:MiamiCityCemetery1.jpg, Confederate memorial
File:Hurricane_Irma_-_Miami_-_Miami_City_Cemetery_03.jpg, Hurricane Irma damage
See also
*
Downtown Miami Historic District
The Downtown Miami Historic District is a U.S. historic district (designated as such on December 6, 2005) located in the Central Business District of Downtown Miami, Florida.
The district is bounded by Miami Court, North Third Street, West T ...
*
References
External links
Dade County listingsa
National Register of Historic PlacesFlorida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs*
Dade County listings*
Dade County markers*
City of Miami Cemetery*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miami Cemetery
Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida
History of Miami
National Register of Historic Places in Miami
Tourist attractions in Miami
1897 establishments in Florida