Wheelerville in Mobile in Mobile County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

New Hope Gardens

Mobile County

Photographed by Mark Hilton, June 24, 2023

1. New Hope Gardens Marker

Inscription.
New Hope Gardens, also known as Wheelerville Cemetery is located in an unincorporated area of Mobile County known as Wheelerville and named for Simeon Wheeler, an early settler of the area from South Carolina buried here in 1874. The first known burial here was in 1845 while the area was still being settled. The community had a reputation for lawlessness, murder, moonshining, gambling, robbery, and revenge killings. Over 1600 burials are recorded here with over 200 of those being in unmarked graves. The notorious gang leader, James Copeland is reported to have been buried here in 1857 in one of the unmarked graves. The cemetery also has burials from veterans from most American wars.

Listed in the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register on September 6, 2006

Erected 2019 by the Board of Directors of New Hope Gardens Inc.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Cemeteries & Burial Sites. A significant historical year for this entry is 1845.

Location. 30° 41.522′ N, 88° 11.391′ W. Marker is in Mobile, Alabama, in Mobile County. It is in Wheelerville. It can be reached from Fincher Road east of Stadium Road. Located within New Hope Cemetery at the University of South Alabama. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Mobile AL 36608, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Alabama’s Gulf Coast

and in Mobile Bay.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and on the Gulf Coast.

Globally, it is in 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 Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers.

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Miller Family Cemetery (approx. 1.4 miles away); Sand Town (approx. 3 miles away); Crawford Methodist Cemetery, Mobile County (approx. 4.7 miles away); Georgia Cottage (approx. 5.3 miles away); Visitation Convent and Academy (approx. 5.7 miles away); The Mitchell Home (approx. 6.2 miles away); Trinity Episcopal Church (approx. 6.2 miles away); Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd / Founding Members (approx. 6.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mobile.

More about this marker. The University Baptist Church was formerly adjacent to the south side of the cemetery.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, June 24, 2023

2. New Hope Gardens Marker

Photographed by Mark Hilton, June 24, 2023

3. New Hope Gardens Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on June 28, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 25, 2023, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,466 times since then and 69 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 25, 2023, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.