Courtland in Southampton County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Helping Hand Cemetery

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

1. Helping Hand Cemetery Marker

Inscription. Six African American trustees purchased this land in 1897 and established The Courtland Colored Cemetery, renamed Helping Hand Cemetery in 1912. The Helping Hand Club, a benevolent organization founded by educator Ersulia Wynn Evans, offered health and burial insurance to community members. Among the approximately 650 persons interred here is Pvt. Solomon Stevens, who escaped from slavery in Southampton Co. during the Civil War, served in the Union Army, and in 1913 sold a parcel of land to the Helping Hand trustees to enlarge the cemetery. Also buried here are about 55 other military veterans. Nottoway Indians whose ancestral lands were in this area, and educators, activists, and entrepreneurs.

Erected 2023 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number U-63.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Cemeteries & Burial Sites. A significant historical year for this entry is 1897.

Location. 36° 43.503′ N, 77° 4.286′ W. Marker is in Courtland, Virginia, in Southampton County. It is at the intersection of Main Street (Virginia Route 35) and Woodland Park Circle, on the

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right when traveling south on Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 21436 Main St, Courtland VA 23837, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Coastal Virginia

and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Tidewater.

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: The Helping Hand Cemetery Trustees of 1897 (a few steps from this marker); Veterans Interred in Helping Hand Cemetery (a few steps from this marker); Percy S. Easter (within shouting distance of this marker); Edna Wilson Darden (within shouting distance of this marker); Wallace Darden (within shouting distance of this marker); Annie Williams Scott (within shouting distance of this

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

2. Helping Hand Cemetery Marker

marker); Rosa Williams Peterson (within shouting distance of this marker); Joe Bryant (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Courtland.

Also see . . . Helping Hand Cemetery. (Submitted on March 25, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)

Helping Hand Cemetery Sign image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

3. Helping Hand Cemetery Sign

Credits. This page was last revised on March 26, 2024. It was originally submitted on March 25, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 295 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 25, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.