National Harmony Memorial Park is a private, secular

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 ...

located at 7101 Sheriff Road in

Landover, Maryland Landover is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 25,998. Landover is contained between Sheriff Road and Central Avenue to the so ...

, in the United States. Although racially integrated, most of the individuals interred there are

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

. In 1960, the 37,000 graves of

Columbian Harmony Cemetery Columbian Harmony Cemetery was an African-American cemetery that formerly existed at 9th Street NE and Rhode Island Avenue NE in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Constructed in 1859, it was the successor to the smaller Harmoneon Cemetery ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, were transferred to National Harmony Memorial Park's Columbian Harmony section. In 1966, about 2,000 graves from

Payne's Cemetery Payne's Cemetery was a cemetery located in the Benning Ridge neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was founded in 1851 as a privately owned secular cemetery open to the public, but it primarily served the city's African Am ...

in D.C. were transferred to National Harmony Memorial Park as well.

History of the cemetery

Washington businessman Louis H. Bell owned Forest Lawn Cemetery on Sheriff Road in Landover, Maryland. Bell also owned Prince George's Nurseries, and planned to add an additional of nursery land to the cemetery. In nearby Washington, D.C.,

had met its capacity. Established in 1859 by a

burial society A burial society is a type of benefit/friendly society. These groups historically existed in England and elsewhere, and were constituted for the purpose of providing by voluntary subscriptions for the funeral expenses of the husband, wife or child ...

for free Blacks, it was the most active cemetery for Black residents from the 1880s to the 1920s. But by 1950 the cemetery ran out of room and stopped new burials. The lack of burials and a perpetual care endowment left the cemetery $3,000 in debt every year by 1956.Sluby and Wormley, p. 39. In 1957, Bell, who wished to develop the Columbian site as real estate, offered the owners of Columbian Harmony Cemetery a 25 percent stake in the new cemetery and offered to pay all relocation costs in exchange for the cemetery's property in D.C. Although Columbian Harmony rejected this offer, negotiations continued. Bell eventually agreed to also establish a perpetual care fund, designate a section of the cemetery as the "Harmony Section", and allowed the Columbian Harmony Cemetery's board to appoint half the members of the new board of directors of the new cemetery association. Beginning in May 1960, approximately 37,000 graves were moved to National Harmony Memorial Park. The District of Columbia Department of Health had to draft and win approval of a whole new set of regulations to govern the relocations. A D.C. district court agreed to issue a single exhumation order, than review thousands of cases. All the heirs of those buried at Columbia Harmony Cemetery were contacted and their permission to move the graves secured. More than 100 workers exhumed, recrated in new coffins, moved, and reburied the dead. However, there were hundreds of graves moved every day; although it is seldom mentioned, many were just put in an unmarked mass site. The re-interments were completed on November 17, 1960. It was the largest cemetery move in the nation's capital, and cost $1 million. Unfortunately, the relocation agreement did not cover the existing memorials and monuments, which would have required identifying remains, moving the markers, and burying each body with its corresponding marker, if any. This would have taken much more time. According to the

Maryland Historical Trust The Maryland Historical Trust is an agency of Maryland Department of Planning and serves as the Maryland State Historic Preservation Office. The agency serves to assist in research, conservation, and education, of Maryland's historical and cultural ...

, none of the original grave markers were retained. Furthermore, most of the remains at Columbian Harmony Cemetery were transferred and reburied without identifying which person was being reburied. The headstones were sold as scrap and used to secure the riverbank of the Stuart Plantation, a 1400 acre conservation easement site on the banks of the Potomac in

King George County, Virginia King George County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 26,723. Its county seat is the town of King George. The county's largest employer is the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center ...

. In 2016 the property was bought by Virginia State Senator

Richard Stuart Richard Henry Stuart (born January 6, 1964) is an American politician and attorney. A Republican, he was elected to the Senate of Virginia in November 2007. He currently represents the 28th district, made up of six counties and parts of two ot ...

, a descendant of the original owners, who discovered the grave markers and sought the help of Virginia Gov.

Ralph Northam Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

in recovering them. A nonprofit organization will reclaim as many of the headstones as possible and send them to National Harmony, and related memorial markers will be placed in both Maryland and Virginia. In 1966, about 2,000 graves were transferred from Payne's Cemetery to National Harmony Memorial Park.

, located at 4640 Benning Road SE, was a historic cemetery founded in 1851, when most cemeteries in the city were segregated. It was exclusively for African Americans. Payne's Cemetery was declared abandoned by the city in the summer of 1966, and the graves moved by September 1967. Stewart Enterprises, a company based in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, purchased National Harmony Memorial Park in 1998. Stewart Enterprises agreed to retain most of the 1959 agreement with Columbian Harmony Cemetery, although Columbian Harmony was no longer permitted to name members to the cemetery's board of directors.

Service Corporation International Service Corporation International is an American provider of funeral goods and services as well as cemetery property and services. It is headquartered in Neartown, Houston, Texas, and operates secondary corporate offices in Jefferson (New Orle ...

acquired Stewart Enterprises in 2013.

Notable interments

Many nationally and locally famous people are interred at National Harmony Memorial Park. Many of their remains were transferred from Columbian Harmony Cemetery or Payne's Cemetery. For information about them see

; note that the exact location of the relocated remains of any particular individual is unknown. Among those buried at National Harmony Memorial Park who were not originally buried elsewhere are: * Leonard C. Bailey (1825-1918), entrepreneur and inventor *Francine Barker (1947–2005), singer who was the original Peaches in the vocal group

Peaches & Herb Peaches & Herb is an American vocal duo. Herb Fame (born October 1, 1941) has remained a constant as "Herb" since the duo was created in 1966; seven different women have filled the role of "Peaches", most notably Francine Edna "Peaches" Hurd B ...

Alvin Childress Alvin Childress (September 15, 1907 – April 19, 1986) was an American actor, who is best known for playing the cabdriver Amos Jones in the 1950s television comedy series ''Amos 'n' Andy''. Biography Alvin Childress was born in Meridian, Missis ...

(1907–1986), actor who played Amos Jones on the ''

Amos 'n' Andy ''Amos 'n' Andy'' is an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago and later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio show ...

'' television series *

Henrietta Vinton Davis Henrietta Vinton Davis (August 25, 1860 – November 23, 1941) was an African-American elocutionist, dramatist, and impersonator. In addition to being "the premier actor of all nineteenth-century black performers on the dramatic stage", Davis ...

(1860–1941), actress and civil rights activist *

Christian Fleetwood Christian Abraham Fleetwood (July 21, 1840 – September 28, 1914), was an African American non-commissioned officer in the United States Army, a commissioned officer in the District of Columbia Army National Guard, D.C. National Guard, an editor ...

(1840–1914),

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

recipient *

William Henry Harrison Hart William Henry Harrison Hart (October 30, 1857 – January 6, 1934) was an List of African-American jurists, African American attorney and Professor of Criminal Law at Howard University from 1887 to 1922. He won an important legal case, ''Hart v. ...

(1857–1934), civil rights attorney *

Thomas R. Hawkins Thomas R. Hawkins (c. 1840 – February 28, 1870) was an African American, African-American Union Army soldier during the American Civil War and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions at th ...

(1840–1870),

recipient * Paul Jennings (1799-1874), slave who served as personal servant to President James Madison; freedman who published a memoir in 1865 *

Henry Lincoln Johnson Henry Lincoln "Linc" Johnson (July 27, 1870 – September 10, 1925) was an American attorney and politician from the state of Georgia. He is best remembered as one of the most prominent African-American Republicans of the first two decades of t ...

(1870–1925), recorder of deeds for Washington, D.C. *

Elizabeth Keckley Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley (February 1818 – May 1907) was an American seamstress, activist, and writer who lived in Washington, D.C. She was best known as the personal dressmaker and confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln. Born into slavery, she was ow ...

(1818–1907), seamstress to

Mary Todd Lincoln Mary Ann Todd Lincoln (December 13, 1818July 16, 1882) served as First Lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Mary Lincoln was a member of a large and wealthy, slave-owning ...

and civil rights activist *William J. "Billy" Mitchell (1931–2002), former singer with

The Clovers The Clovers are an American rhythm and blues/doo-wop vocal group who became one of the biggest selling acts of the 1950s.The Guinness Who's Who of Fifties Music. General Editor: Colin Larkin. First published 1993 (UK). . The Clovers p77. They had ...

* Henry Vinton Plummer (1844–1905), first African-American chaplain in the U.S. Army (originally interred at family plot in

Bladensburg, Maryland Bladensburg is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland. The population was 9,657 at the 2020 census. Areas in Bladensburg are located within ZIP code 20710. Bladensburg is from central Washington. History Originally called Garrison's Landi ...

) *

Philip Reid Philip Reed also Philip Reid (''c.'' 1820 – February 6, 1892) was an African American master craftsman who worked at the foundries of self-taught sculptor Clark Mills (sculptor), Clark Mills, where historical monuments such as the 1853 ''Eque ...

( 1820–1892), foundryman who oversaw the casting of the

Statue of Freedom The ''Statue of Freedom'', also known as ''Armed Freedom'' or simply ''Freedom'', is a bronze statue designed by Thomas Crawford (1814–1857) that, since 1863, has crowned the dome of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Originally ...

Hilyard Robinson Hilyard Robinson (1899 – July 2, 1986) was a prominent African-American architect and engineer. Biography Hilyard Robinson was born in Washington, D.C., where his mother was a seamstress and his grandfather had a shoe-shining business. Robins ...

(1899–1986), modernist architect and

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

professor * Alfred Kiger Savoy (1883–1964), educator and Assistant Superintendent for Colored Elementary Schools,

District of Columbia Public Schools The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) is the local public school system for the District of Columbia, in the United States. It is distinct from the District of Columbia Public Charter Schools (DCPCS), which governs public charter ...

, 1932 to 1954 *

Billy Stewart William Larry Stewart II (March 24, 1937 – January 17, 1970) was an American rhythm and blues singer and pianist who was popular during the 1960s. Biography Stewart was 12 years old when he began singing with his younger brothers Johnny, James ...

(1937–1970),

scat-singing In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. ...

R&B and soul artist

References

Bibliography

* * *{{cite book, last=Wilson, first=Scott, title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, location=Jefferson, N.C., publisher=McFarland & Company, date=2016, isbn=9781476625997, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOHgDAAAQBAJ 1962 establishments in Maryland Cemeteries in Maryland Landover, Maryland African-American history of Prince George's County, Maryland