In 1933, the City of Tampa bought a 40-acre parcel at this location and later set aside five acres for a pauper’s cemetery to bury indigent residents. In 1942, the city named the cemetery Ridgewood, and it was actively used between 1942 and 1954 as a burial ground for African American and indigent families in Tampa. The cemetery remained mostly undisturbed until the city sold the land to investors, who then sold it to the School Board of Hillsborough County in 1959. In 1960, King High School opened on the north end of the property opposite the cemetery. In 2019, Tampa resident Ray Reed shared records with the school district indicating a possible cemetery at that site. Historical records vary but indicate that between 250 and 268 burials occurred at Ridgewood, and as many as 77 of those burials were infants or small children. Ground-penetrating radar scans show 145 burials still intact in the south area of the school property. Every discovered record indicates that all burials were made in the same small area, taking up about one acre. Following an investigation, legal authority was turned back over to the school district. A memorial designed by Jerel McCants was completed in 2022.