Petersburg, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

People's Memorial Cemetery

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, May 12, 2020

1. People's Memorial Cemetery Marker

Inscription. Twenty eight members of Petersburg's large community of free African Americans purchased a one-acre tract to serve as a burial ground in 1840. Subsequent acquisitions of adjacent land created a cemetery complex later known as People's Memorial. Buried here are slaves. an antislavery writer whose grave is listed on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, a 19th-century member of the Virginia House of Delegates, veterans of the Civil War through World War II, and hundreds of other black residents. Numerous grave markers bearing the insignia of mutual aid societies and fraternal orders reflect the importance of these organizations to the community.

Erected 2014 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number QA-34.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War, US Civil • War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Network to Freedom, and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1840.

Location. 37° 13.515′ N, 77° 23.276′ W.

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Marker is in Petersburg, Virginia. It is on South Crater Road (U.S. 301) 0.1 miles south of Mingea Street, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Petersburg VA 23803, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Central Virginia.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: A different marker also named Blandford Church and Cemetery (about 400 feet away); Battle of Petersburg (about 400 feet away); Cockade Monument (about 400 feet away); Blandford Church (about 400 feet away); a different marker also named Battle of Petersburg (about 400 feet away); War of 1812 Veterans Memorial (about 700 feet away); Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial

South Washington Street (facing south) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, May 12, 2020

2. South Washington Street (facing south)

(about 700 feet away); Battle of the Crater - Covered Way (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Petersburg.

Other markers no longer nearby. Blandford Church and Cemetery (was about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line but has been replaced with another marker now near it); a different marker also named Blandford Church (was about 700 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Also see . . . People's Memorial Cemetery. National Register of Historic Places (Submitted on November 11, 2021.)

People's Memorial Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, May 12, 2020

3. People's Memorial Cemetery

Credits. This page was last revised on January 26, 2026. It was originally submitted on May 12, 2020, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 820 times since then and 51 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 12, 2020, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.