Hampton Springs Cemetery is a cemetery in rural
Dallas County, Arkansas
Dallas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,116, making it the fourth-least populous county in Arkansas. The county seat is Fordyce. Dallas County is Arkansas's 49th county, for ...
, at the junction of county roads 425 and 427, near the city of
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
. The cemetery is divided into two sections, one in which traditional European grave markers predominate, and another section in which graves are marked by a local adaptation of African burial customs.
Historic African American Section
This African-American section of the cemetery is said to have been in use since the late 19th century, although its oldest identified grave is dated 1916. Most of its estimated 128 marked graves are denoted by informal means, including small bushes, ceramic objects, metal pipes, wooden stakes, offering vessels such as glass jars and bowls, and even a kerosene lamp. This section of the cemetery has been listed on the
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 ...
as an important regional example of traditional African burial practices.
See also
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References
External links
{{National Register of Historic Places
Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas
Cultural infrastructure completed in 1916
National Register of Historic Places in Dallas County, Arkansas
1916 establishments in Arkansas
African-American cemeteries in Arkansas
Cemeteries established in the 1910s