Rose Cemetery

Rose Cemetery, also known as Rose Hill Cemetery, was established in the early 1900s as a segregated cemetery and is the oldest African-American cemetery in Pinellas County. Located on approximately five acres of land, it reflects the social history and cultural traditions associated with Christianity and early African-American customs. Many of the African-Americans buried there were of Bahamian descent, and some of their graves are marked by large conch shells. Although the earliest marked grave states 1904, there are strong indications of earlier burials. The Rose Hill Cemetery Association was first incorporated on November 22, 1916, when the Lake Butler Villa Company gave the African-American board members a 99-year lease, and the following year, in 1917, the property was deeded to the Association. Through the 1950s, Rose Cemetery served other black communities throughout the county. Many difficulties during those years, including destroyed records, haphazard burials, and limited funding, resulted in many unmarked and misplaced graves. Significant burials included the founders of local African-American churches started in the 1890s and an African American Confederate Civil War veteran, Richard Quarls (1830-1925).

Tarpon Springs, Florida · United States