HONORING THE BLACK AND QUAKER CEMETERIES OF WALTER PIERCE PARK, WASHINGTON, DC

pavilionDESCENDANTS AND ALLIES DEDICATED THE ANCESTORS PAVILION IN SEPTEMBER 2024, putting the crowning touch on the grassroots effort to document and protect the cemeteries at Walter Pierce Park. It displays the names of 8,428 African American and Quaker Washingtonians laid to rest here in the 19th century. See the WUSA9 report here.

Descendants proposed the Pavilion in 2018. They worked with the DC Department of Parks and Recreation, DC Department of General Services, and contractor Atmos Solutions Inc. to make it a reality. See the signs.Diane-YoungMarcia-Cole

Photos: Top, the Ancestors Pavilion; above left, the All Souls Unitarian Church Choir; above right, Amirah Mack, daughter of biological anthropologist Mark Mack; left, poet Marcia Cole; right, descendant Diane Young and ally Mary Belcher.
***

IMG_6311forweb

THE NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD SIGNS AT THE CALVERT STREET ENTRANCE TO WALTER PIERCE PARK were dedicated December 11, 2021, by descendants of cemetery founders Eli Nugent, John Shorter, and the Edmonson family. The historical markers honor the freedom seekers buried at the park. The signs were funded by a grant from the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom and by Rock Creek Park of the National Park Service. See the SIGNS. Watch the NBC4 Washington report.

***

QUICK CLICKS TO WALTER PIERCE REPORTS:

***

           REDISCOVERING THE WALTER PIERCE PARK CEMETERIES

Biological anthropologist Mark Mack of Howard University and students Ike Mesumbe and Miesha Hegwood begin the survey. (Photo by Mary Belcher)

IN THE 1800s, TWO CEMETERIES OCCUPIED SEVEN ACRES OF LAND at today’s Walter C. Pierce Park in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC. The Friends Burying Ground–the city’s only Quaker cemetery–was in use from 1807 to 1890. The much larger African American cemetery was Mt. Pleasant Plains Cemetery, owned and operated by the Colored Union Benevolent Association from 1870 to 1890.

The cemeteries were almost lost to time after closing in 1890. Parts of the land were sold to the National Zoo and Rock Creek Park. Developers in the 1950s tried to build high-rises on the rest of the site but abandoned their efforts. Neighbors in 1978 persuaded the city to buy the land to create a park.

Stone_M_lifted_up_1border

A headstone is lifted for inspection. (Photo by Mary Belcher)

In 2005, concerned citizens and Howard University anthropologists joined forces to protect the unmarked cemeteries at Walter Pierce Park. Their collaboration began in response to a city plan to construct large terraces in the park. Neighbors were aware of the park’s history as cemetery land. They were certain that the massive earth-moving project would disturb any graves that might remain. The concerned community was quickly joined by Mark Mack, a renowned Howard University biological anthropologist and laboratory director of the landmark African Burial Ground project in New York.

City officials told the grassroots group that all the graves had been removed from the site decades ago. But the concerned community quickly found documentary evidence that thousands of people had been buried in the cemeteries before they were forced to close in 1890. And there was no evidence that thousands of graves had ever been removed.

After months of debate, city officials relented. They allowed Professor Mack and a team of Howard U. students and independent historians to survey the park. Grants to pay the students and buy supplies were obtained through a nonprofit neighborhood group, the Kalorama Citizens Association. After three years of privately funded work, the Walter Pierce Park Archaeological Team received city funding to complete its research.

While one part of the team worked in the field, team historians reviewed city death records to find out who was buried in the cemeteries. They documented the names, addresses, causes of death and other biographical information of 8,428 people. Among them were more than 40 African American soldiers and sailors who fought in the Civil War. Also buried here were men and women who worked to free others from slavery, including key actors in the largest Underground Railroad operation in U.S. history: the 1848 escape on the schooner Pearl.

The archaeologists surveyed the park using only non-invasive means. They didn’t dig because the point of the work was to protect, not disturb, graves. They found ample evidence of the cemeteries. The exposed skeletal remains of at least nine individuals were found. Coffin hardware, headstones, and grave offerings were found. The random positioning of many of the finds–including exposed remains and artifacts scattered on hillsides–provided evidence of the cemeteries’ desecration and neglect throughout most of the 20th Century.

Public awareness is essential to preserving this sacred place. If you would like to be added to the email list for upcoming events, write community liaison Mary Belcher, maryjbelcher@comcast.net.

***

GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY DETECTS INTACT GRAVES; CONFIRMS EARLIER ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH

Saying Their Names at Walter Pierce Park is an annual commemorative event. (Photo by Gretchen Roberts Shorter)

A geophysical survey of Walter C. Pierce Community Park in Adams Morgan, Washington, DC, detected at least 35 intact graves from the African American and Quaker cemeteries that once occupied the site. It’s possible that hundreds or thousands more remain some 30 feet below the present-day surface of the park, where they can’t be detected by scientific equipment. There were at least 8,428 burials made in the cemeteries during the 19th Century.

Dr. Jarrod Burks of Ohio Valley Archaeology Inc. conducted the survey using ground-penetrating radar, magnetometers, and high-tech topographical analyses of the site’s contours over time. His findings help explain the earlier archaeological findings made by Howard University biological anthropologist Mark Mack during a multi-year, non-invasive survey of the site.

“One of the most important ideas presented in this report is that a large amount of fill [deposited soil] now covers most of the northern two-thirds of the park,” Dr. Burks found. “This fill is likely sitting right on top of the original land surface—i.e., the original surface of the cemetery. If this is the case, possibly hundreds or thousands of human burials remain in the park, entombed beneath up to nine meters [about 30 feet] of fill. In areas where the fill is relatively thin, the geophysical surveys found probable and possible evidence of graves.”

The Walter Pierce Park Archaeology and Commemoration Project is grateful to Dr. Burks and DC City Archaeologist Dr. Ruth Trocolli for permitting us to publish and share the Results of Geophysical Surveys in Walter C. Pierce Community Park, Washington, D.C.: A Geophysical Search for Evidence of Graves Related to the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.

***

   A sacred cemetery object. 

31 responses to “HONORING THE BLACK AND QUAKER CEMETERIES OF WALTER PIERCE PARK, WASHINGTON, DC”

  2. Will be checking to see if my great grand mother Emily Edmonson, from the Book Fugitives of the PEARL by John L Paynter is bury their.

  3. Hi Ben: Emily isn’t buried here. But her mother Amelia (Millie) Edmondson is, as well as 23 other members of the extended Edmonson family. I am grateful to hear from you. Other Edmonson descendants are involved in our effort to commemorate the cemeteries at Walter Pierce Park — Mary Belcher

  4. Hi Mary — Are there any plans to have a permanent historic marker? I vaguely recall a marker down on the bike path near the creek, but didn’t see it yesterday when I pedaled by. I did see the bulletin board signs, which have a good deal of useful info (I’m sure you did that!) Best, Steve

  6. I was so happy to be able to participate. Speaking the names of the ancestors into the universe honors their existence however brief and the important contributions they made to building this nation.

  7. Hi, Mary,

    I see my dad Ben Berry has been in touch with you. My dad and I plan to visit DC July 5. We’re descendants of Emily Edmonson and want to visit sites related to the Edmonsons. Is there a marker in the park that mentions the cemetery, might you know where Emily is buried, or might you have another suggestion of a site to visit? Thanks, Linda

  8. Hi Linda: The Edmonson family was very much involved in the cemetery’s creation, and there were at least 23 members of your extended family buried there. We have no map of which graves are where. Some Edmonson Family graves were moved to Harmony Cemetery in DC, which no longer exists, and the graves were then moved to Harmony Cemetery near Landover, Maryland. I don’t know if they are marked out there in Landover.

  9. My ancestor, Jonathan Shoemaker, donated the first 1/4 acre as a “Friends” resting grounds. Strauser, Shoemaker, Walton. My family has documented our history since the first voyage. Both sides of my genetic contibutions.

  14. As a longtime Adams Morgan resident who remembers the hardworking community organizer, Mr. Walter Pierce, I am grateful for the recognition of this sacred ground and I pray it will receive the proper attention it deserves.

  15. Such excellent work and dedication to our history and culture. Thanks Mary, Eddie and all the others.

    We tried for years to bring similar respect and preservation to McMillan Park the only DC park that was integrated from 1905 to 1941. DC elected officials and their corporate developer partners intransigence and corrupt collusion forced the massive McMillan Town Center on our city and demolished the fascinating Sand Filtration Site. Just the shame of corruption, sheer dictatorial govt. power and big money over public needs. We need this central park, and all the civic benefits but our Mayor and City Council and all their subordinate agencies were corrupted especially Bowser and Mendelson, and even Attorney General Racine and his entire office and even the DC Court of Appeals lied and manipulated everything they could to force that massive luxury housing development on our city. too bad for all. Mary you showed us all how to respect and preserve our heritage, bravo and thanks so much

  17. Thank you for preserving as much history as possible including information on Black/Chocolate people. M, Belcher attended the “Remember the Pearl’ celebration recently and referred me to your organization. Again, your work is much appreciated.

    I am one of the ancestors of Sue Beall, Lucy Bell, Daniel Bell, Mary (Brown) Bell and Mary Ellen Bell. Daniel was one of the Organizers trying to free his family through the courts and when that failed he tried, unsuccessfully, to free his family on the Schooner called the Pearl. I plan to search your burial directory to see if I can find some of my ancestors.

  18. Hi Earl: Your Ancestors were brave freedom seekers, and I was honored to meet you at the Remember the Pearl event in Southwest Washington. Let us know whether you find any of your DC people on our burials list!

  19. Hello,

    I live a half block away from Walter Pierce Park and would like to know the status of this important effort to preserve and honor this sacred ground and how to support it. Thank you for your efforts.

    Pamela Vossenas

  20. Hi: If you know of the names of the people who worked at Peirce Mill and the surrounding farm, you can look them up on the burials database. — Mary Belcher

  21. Hi Pamela: Later this spring or by early summer (2024), the Ancestors Pavilion at the park will be installed. It will include nine signs that list the more than 8,428 men, women, and children buried in the two cemeteries. The signs, which are now being manufactured, will also tell the stories of the cemeteries and feature images that depict important aspects of 19th century life in Washington, D.C. The Ancestors Pavilion was proposed in 2018 by a group of descendants of the buried and allies who have been involved in documenting the cemeteries. THERE WILL BE A MAJOR CELEBRATION WHEN THE SIGNS ARE DEDICATED, AND WE’LL SET A DATE AS SOON AS WE CAN BE CERTAIN ABOUT THE PROJECT’S COMPLETION. I hope you can attend! — Mary Belcher

  22. WOW! The work that has been done by you and all the other archaeologists and college students to identify and preserve the two cemeteries is wonderful and very much in line with what my late, dear friend, Walter C. Pierce, stood for. Walter was a dedicated, hardworking community activist, youth mentor/advocate and champion of the working-class people in the Ontario Road/Adams Morgan community. For the first time in many years, I just talked with his brother, and found this website while reminiscing with him about Walter and his life’s work. Please keep me/us informed about ongoing activities with this archaeological, burial site preservation, and commemorative project taking place in the park. I have not visited the park in decades but would love to attend the upcoming commemorative/dedication event.

    Minister Michelle Chisley

  23. Hi Rev. Chisley: Thanks for your kind words! Walter Pierce was a force for good in our Adams Morgan neighborhood and his legacy is the park, which the entire community continues to enjoy. If you send me your email address I’ll add you to the mailing list. Or you can check back at this website for updates on the upcoming dedication of the Ancestors Pavilion once we set a date. — Mary Belcher, maryjbelcher@comcast.net

  24. Hello Mary Belcher,

    Thank you so much for your dedicated work to preserve this crucial part of American history!!!

    Please let us know when the official dedication is ready for public notice.

  26. Good morning Mary Belcher:

    Many thanks to you and the Howard University team for all the tireless work in honoring those extraordinary lives that graced our nation’s capitol. I am looking to establish the mother of Calvin Brent as part of the Edmonson family. Unfortunately, Calvin was buried in Colombian Harmony Cemetery and it is well established what happened there. I did not know that Amelia Edmonson and other members of her family had been moved there as well. I did pay a visit to the Landover site and many of the burials are not marked. I will make an appointment when things cool down to investigate further. If I find interesting or relevant information, I will share it with you.

  27. Thanks for appreciating our city’s important history. Calvin Brent, the son of Elizabeth and John Brent, died in 1899–nine years after Mt. Pleasant Plains Cemetery (at Walter Pierce Park) was closed. In the course of our work, historian Barbara Bates found that more than 20 members of the extended Edmonson family were buried at Mt. Pleasant Plains. We found burial-removal records for only four family members (Elizabeth, John, and two of Calvin Brent’s children Marguerete and John Calvin), but the records are likely incomplete. The removals to Harmony Cemetery were recorded July 6, 1918. If you need other information, feel free to contact me directly at maryjbelcher@comcast.net, and either Barbara Bates or I might be able to provide more details for you.

  28. I saw the new report today and it brings my heart such joy to see the hard work that went into preserving this sacred area. My paternal side is from the DMV and I hope to locate some that I just can’t find.

  29. Good luck with your search on the burials database! Watch for creative name spellings, which was common at the time. To find possibly related people with the same last name, look in the column that lists place of death–often addresses are the same.

  30. Is there an email or a link where we can make a donation? We love the park, and love what you’re doing! I don’t see anything on your website that tells how to support the cause.

  31. Thanks for your kind words! We are grateful for donations in any amount through our nonprofit neighborhood partner, the Kalorama Citizens Association. If you’d like to send a check by mail, make it out to Kalorama Citizens Association, and just write in the notation line: for Walter Pierce Park. The address is KCA, P.O. Box 21311, Washington, DC 20009. You also can donate on-line checking the Walter Pierce Archaeology box on the Join & Donate page at kaloramacitizensassociation.org.

Leave a comment