Gainesville in Alachua County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Chestnut Funeral Home

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, May 10, 2017

1. Chestnut Funeral Home Marker

Inscription. The Chestnut family in Gainesville has served the mortuary needs of the African American community in Alachua County since 1914. Charles S. Chestnut, Sr. was a founding member of the Florida Morticians Association in the early 1900s. The business was founded in the early 1920s by Matthew E. Hughes and Charles S. Chestnut, Sr. as the Hughes and Chestnut Funeral Home. This Mission-style building was built for the business in 1928. Following Hughes’s death in 1947, the business was re-named the Chestnut Funeral Home. Four generations of the Chestnut family have managed the business, and provided training for undertakers, some of whom went on to establish their own funeral homes. In addition to providing professional service to the community, the Chestnuts have followed the tradition of civic duty set by Johnson Chestnut. He was the first member of the Chestnut family to settle in Gainesville, and served on the city commission from 1868-1869. Many of Johnson Chestnut’s descendants have been community leaders and have held a variety of elected offices. During the Civil Rights era, they worked to integrate schools and businesses

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and provided a meeting place at the Chestnut Funeral Home for the local chapter of the NAACP.

Erected 2013 by The Chestnut Family and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-794.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Architecture • Civil Rights • Education. A significant historical year for this entry is 1914.

Location. 29° 39.558′ N, 82° 19.542′ W. Marker is in Gainesville, Florida, in Alachua County. It is at the intersection of Northwest 8th Avenue (State Road 20) and Northwest 1st Street, on the right when traveling west on Northwest 8th Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 18 Northwest 8th Avenue, Gainesville FL 32601, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Florida.

It is also in the American South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate

Chestnut Funeral Home Marker looking east on NW 8th Ave. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, May 10, 2017

2. Chestnut Funeral Home Marker looking east on NW 8th Ave.

States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Mount Pleasant United Methodist Church (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Thomas House (approx. ¼ mile away); "The Great Endurance Run" (approx. ¼ mile away); Mt. Carmel Baptist Church (approx. 0.3 miles away); Roper Park / Old City Park (approx. 0.3 miles away); St. Augustine, the Episcopal Mission Church and School (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Bailey House (approx. 0.4 miles away); Gainesville's Railroads / Past Railroads of Gainesville (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Gainesville.

Additional keywords. Jim Crow South

Credits. This page was last revised on August 18, 2020. It was originally submitted on December 3, 2017, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 989 times since then and 82 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 3, 2017, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.