Cahawba's African American Cemetery

Cahawba's African American Cemetery. . , Three hundred feet ahead of you is the entrance to one of Cahawba's oldest cemeteries. On an 1883 map, it is labeled "Negro burial ground." It also appears, unlabeled, on the earliest Map of the Town of Cahawba (circa 1819), suggesting that this area was set aside from the beginning to be a burial ground for Cahawba's enslaved people. Although a square town block was originally intended for this purpose, appears that the graves were actually placed along a long narrow ridge to avoid low places in this flood-prone area. , African American families continued to use this graveyard after emancipation. The last known burial was in 1957. However, as you walk the trail through the burial ground and read the tombstones, notice that most mark the graves of people who were born into slavery. , This cemetery only contains a few headstones, but there are also hundreds of sunken unmarked graves. This is not surprising since Cahawba's enslaved population outnumbered slaveholders. In 1860, 1,920 people lived within the town limits: 1,200 were Black; 720 were White. , Be Respectful , Please respect the sanctity of this sacred place. Walk softly along the trail. Please don't move any gravestones, artifacts or plants. Use the provided brochure as you tour this cemetery and learn something about Cahawba's historic African American community.