Mobile in Mobile County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Old Plateau Cemetery
Africatown Graveyard
The Old Plateau Cemetery, known as the Africatown Graveyard, is the final resting place of enslaved Africans, African-Americans, and a Buffalo Soldier. The burial ground dates back to 1876, sixteen years after Africans arrived on the Clotilda which was one of the last documented slave ships to leave Africa for the Americas. The northern area of the graveyard is the older section where the remains of Clotilda survivors have been found through an archaeological preservation project directed by the College of William and Mary. The historic annals of Africatown are chiseled upon tombstones in this graveyard.
Erected 2010 by The African-American Heritage Trail of Mobile. (Marker Number 31.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Buffalo Soldiers, and the Dora Franklin Finley African-American Heritage Trail of Mobile series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1876.
Location. 30° 43.875′ N, 88° 3.593′ W. Marker is in Mobile, Alabama, in Mobile County. Marker is on Bay Bridge Cutoff Road, 0.1 miles north of Chin Street, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map . Marker is at or near this postal address: 1959 Bay Bridge Cutoff Road, Mobile AL 36610, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Union Baptist Church / Founders of Union Baptist Church (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Cudjoe “Kazoola” Lewis (about 300 feet away); Africatown (approx. 0.2 miles away); Oaklawn Cemetery (approx. 1˝ miles away); Catholic Cemetery (approx. 1.8 miles away); Gen. William C. Gorgas (approx. 1.9 miles away); Vernon Z. Crawford Law Firm (approx. 2.1 miles away); Christopher First Johnson House (approx. 2.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mobile.
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.
Also see . . .
1. African American Heritage Trail. Website homepage (Submitted on July 27, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
2. Africatown project locates graves of ex-slaves who survived 1859 shipwreck. AL.com website entry:
Africatown project locates graves of ex-slaves who survived 1859 shipwreck. (Submitted on July 27, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
Credits. This page was last revised on March 3, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 27, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 2,330 times since then and 605 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on July 27, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.