Cemetery Tour Part 2
- samguzzie
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
I visited Winston-Salem, North Carolina to tour historic cemeteries across the city, four total, as well as a few settlement sites in the area. I chose Winston-Salem for a few reasons. One, it’s particular attention to historic preservation as a city, two, the Moravian settlements and their unique burial grounds, and three, the history of slave labor in the Winston tobacco industry, and later significant and notorious segregation of the Twin City.
A brief history, Winston-Salem was originally two cities: Salem and Winston. Salem was a Moravian settlement, the first in NC, founded in the 1750’s and formally established in 1772. Moravian’s were a German-speaking early Protestant group. Salem began industrializing in the 1800’s, employing white laborers in textile production. Just a mile north, in Winston however, they were industrializing in the tobacco industry relying on slave labor. After the Civil War, Camel cigarettes began a major operation in Winston, in 1875, just a decade after the abolition of slavery. Newly “freed” African-American workers were paid extremely low wages and relegated to housing near the factories. The city quickly became the wealthiest in North Carolina, while imposing some of the strictest segregation laws in the South. The implications of this disparity can still be witnessed today. Winston and Salem would eventually merge in 1913, to form the Twin City.
The Odd Fellows cemetery was not originally on my list. In fact, it does not come up if you search just ‘historic cemeteries in Winston-Salem’ on google. It is however, the largest, and oldest African-American cemetery in the area, predating the merger, with estimated 10,000 bodies, and markers showing many of them were alive during the civil war. I did not know any of this when I showed up. It was honestly a very strange and sorrowful experience.
I was entirely alone in the cemetery. Small, clean American flags peppered the graves, some of the only signs of human life. I remember texting a friend that I had never seen a cemetery so neglected. Graves half sunken, headstones and markers cracked and fallen, nature, while beautiful, taking over some sections. I had this very odd sense that I couldn’t quite place. I felt this need to be way more careful with my step than usual, even surprising myself when I apologized, out loud, to the ground I stepped on near one graves.
As I walked further into the overgrown areas I started noticing these little plaques on some of the graves. Most were too water stained to read, eventually I found one where I could make out the name of a family funeral home. I looked them up, a multi-generational African-American owned funeral home serving the community. That is when it dawned on me where I was, and that is when the grief hit home of its ruin.
I would later look up the cemetery to learn that it was established by two African-American fraternal organizations in the early 1900’s. By the end of the 20th century it had fallen into disrepair. I imagine way quicker than many burial grounds, with the prominent use of less costly material and home-made grave markers, but ultimately, this is the direct result of segregation, Jim Crow era laws, and exploitative poverty in the area.
In 2008, the Friends of the Odd Fellows Cemetery was founded with intention of repairing the historic landmark, with more recent efforts uncovering granite and concrete markers in good condition (1). What is unique about this cemetery is the use of different materials to mark the graves. Shells, glass, marbles pressed into concrete, tin cans, bowls and pottery filled with offerings, hallmarks of 19th and 20th century African-American burial traditions. There is a whole other essay to discuss here, however, this cemetery is a significant example, culturally and archaeologically speaking. It is a locally recognized historic landmark and was placed on the NC National Register of Historic Places Study List (1). And still, the restoration project is vastly under supported, requiring historic preservation and archaeological record keeping, while maintaining utmost respect for the burials grounds and its residents just a few generations old.
For stark and honest contrast, and to further illustrate my point on the ongoing implications of segregation in Winston-Salem, pictured is Salem Cemetery, with its winding paths and beautifully tended landscape, daily volunteers, employed security, home to R.J Reynolds of Camel cigarettes, and the Hanes family, yes, that Hanes, and confederate plots alike.
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