Mims in Brevard County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
LaGrange/Mims Community Cemetery
Photographed By Tim Fillmon, February 3, 2017
1. LaGrange/Mims Community Cemetery Marker
Inscription.
LaGrange/Mims Community Cemetery. . In the early 1900s, a two acre parcel of land north of LaGrange Community Church and Cemetery was given to the Mims colored community for a cemetery. Earliest marked graves are dated 1903; many are unmarked. In the 1800s both blacks and whites worshipped at the LaGrange Community Church. In 1894, after organizing their own congregation, St James Colored Missionary Baptist Church acquired land in Mims and in 1904 built their own church. In June 1913, trustees of that church purchased this parcel from the East Coast Cattle Company to be used as a cemetery, then referred to as the Mims Colored Cemetery. Many of North Brevard's pioneering black families rest in this hallowed ground with family names of Abrams, Bell, Brothers, Brown, Campbell, Cuyler, Grant, Gibson, Highsmith, McKenzie, Mitchell, Seigler, Simms, Strickland, Warren, and Williams. Most noted are the graves of Harry T. Moore and Harriette V. Simms Moore, civil rights activists. Moore was chapter president of Brevard County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and later NAACP Florida Convention president/state coordinator. On Christmas Eve, 1951 the Moores were killed when their home, located near this site, was bombed.
In the early 1900s, a two acre parcel of land north of LaGrange Community Church and Cemetery was given to the Mims colored community for a cemetery. Earliest marked graves are dated 1903; many are unmarked. In the 1800s both blacks and whites worshipped at the LaGrange Community Church. In 1894, after organizing their own congregation, St James Colored Missionary Baptist Church acquired land in Mims and in 1904 built their own church. In June 1913, trustees of that church purchased this parcel from the East Coast Cattle Company to be used as a cemetery, then referred to as the Mims Colored Cemetery. Many of North Brevard's pioneering black families rest in this hallowed ground with family names of Abrams, Bell, Brothers, Brown, Campbell, Cuyler, Grant, Gibson, Highsmith, McKenzie, Mitchell, Seigler, Simms, Strickland, Warren, and Williams.
Most noted are the graves of Harry T. Moore and Harriette V. Simms Moore, civil rights activists. Moore was chapter president of Brevard County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and later NAACP Florida Convention president/state coordinator. On Christmas Eve, 1951 the Moores were killed when their home, located near this site, was bombed.
Erected 2003 by The Brevard County Historical Society and Florida Department of State
Location. 28° 38.459′ N, 80° 50.254′ W. Marker is in Mims, Florida, in Brevard County. Marker is at the intersection of Old Dixie Highway and Diamond Road, on the left when traveling south on Old Dixie Highway. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Titusville FL 32796, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.
Photographed By Tim Fillmon, February 3, 2017
2. LaGrange/Mims Community Cemetery Marker
Looking south along Old Dixie Highway.
Photographed By Tim Fillmon, February 3, 2017
3. LaGrange/Mims Community Cemetery Graves
Photographed By Tim Fillmon, February 3, 2017
4. Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Grave
"In Memory of Those Who Gave Their Lives"
Note that the grave gives the correct year of Mrs. Moore's death. She died on January 3, 1952, at the hospital in Sanford, Florida, some days after the Christmas day attack that killed Harry T. Moore.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 27, 2017. It was originally submitted on February 15, 2017, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 550 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on February 15, 2017, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
