Hickory Hill Plantation Slave Cemetery

Hickory Hill Plantation Slave Cemetery. . , Side 1: , To the south of this marker is the Hickory Hill Plantation Slave Cemetery which contains the remains of approximately 140 African-Americans. These individuals labored in the bonds of slavery during the period 1818 to 1865 and many as tenant farmers after the Civil War. In March 1818, General John Coffee purchased 1280 acres of land in this area and established his plantation, Hickory Hill. He built his home approximately 700 feet to the east of this site and 150 feet beyond the current walled cemetery. By 1819, Coffee had moved his family to its new home. He was dependent upon slaves for the operation of his plantation and owned as many as 85 slaves at one time. Coffee cultivated his plantation with slave labor until his death on July 7, 1833. Thereafter, his family continued the work using slave labor until slavery was abolished on December 18, 1865. It is believed that many African-American remained at Hickory Hill after the Civil War and tilled the land as tenant farmers. Following then common practices, a cemetery for slaves working on the Hickory Hill Plantation was located here. 500 feet to the west of the Coffee Cemetery, adjacent to a large ravine, and on a north-south ridge-line. (Continued on other side). Side 2: (Continued from other side). It is believed that the first burial here occurred around 1830. Most of the graves were marked with fieldstones. Only one grave was identified with a modern-day marble marker which has been broken, and the inscription is not legible. Some of the African-Americans tenant farmers working at Hickory Hill Plantation after 1865, their descendants and descendants of former slaves are probably buried here. Names of individuals buried here and the dates of their death are unknown. As time passed the slave cemetery lay unattended and forgotten except for a few graves that received limited care. Decomposition of the caskets and bodies resulted in sunken, elongated and oval depressions in the soil. The grounds became overgrown with grass, trees, and dense underbrush. An early record, dated May 22, 1902, described the cemetery as containing one acre; however, its shape and location were not cited. In 2014, the Florence Historical Board, utilizing a large donation from Wal-Mart, began restoration of the Hickory Hill Plantation Slave Cemetery and the nearby Coffee Family Cemetery. The Board's goal was to preserve both cemeteries and the locations as historical sites.