Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground

The "Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground" was established in 1816.[1][2] It was a segregated part of the "Shockoe Hill Burying Ground", also known as the "Shockoe Hill Cemetery", a municipal burying ground owned and operated by the City of Richmond. It was managed by the Superintendent of the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground, who was also the Superintendent of the Poorhouse (with the exception of the years 1863-1867 during which time the positions were separated) and the City Hospital[3][4] The Poorhouse was also called the Almshouse. The burial ground was overseen by the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Committee, which was a standing committee of the Richmond City Council. The African Burying Ground was active from its opening in February of 1816 until its closure by the city due to overcrowded conditions in June of 1879. The land that comprises this presently unacknowledged burial ground, contains nothing on its surface that would cause it to be visibly recognizable as a cemetery today. Its original two one acre plots are located at 5th and Hospital St., east of the Hebrew Cemetery. It was greatly expanded in size over time. By 1850 its grounds encompassed as many as 15 acres. Later maps seem to indicate an even greater expansion.

In the 1870s it came to be labeled on maps as "Potter's Field", until it last appeared in 1905.[5][6] The 1905 map showed that it extended west behind The Almshouse to 2nd St, and north to the Bacon's Quarter Branch.[7] Some maps show it extending to the east almost as far as 8th St. Earlier maps show it by various names. On the 1816 Plan of the City of Richmond Property, the two one-acre plots were labeled "Burying Ground for Free People of Colour", and the "Burying Ground for Negroes".[2] On the 1817 Map of the City of Richmond, it appears as the "Free People of Colour's B.G." and "Negro(e's) B.G.".[8] The 1835 Plan of the City of Richmond has it recorded as the "Grave Yard for Free People of Colour" and "For Slaves".[9] On that map the burying ground for slaves had been increased by about 1.3 additional acres. The 1842 Bates Map depicts it as "The Burying Ground for Coloured Persons" and "the Burying Ground for Slaves".[10] On the 1849 Plan of Richmond, it is referred to as one place, and was called the "Burying-ground for Coloured Persons".[11] In 1850 the Common Council increased the burying-ground for colored persons by 9 acres in addition to the grounds of the City Hospital.[12] On the 1853 Smith's Map of Henrico County, Virginia, it appears twice. On the county portion of the map it appears under the "Shockoe Hill Burying Ground". On the separate city of Richmond portion of the map it appears as the "African Burying Ground".[13]

During the Civil War, the bodies of more than 500 deceased Union Army Prisoners of War were interred in the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground. Shortly after the war their remains were removed from the African Burying Ground and then re-interred in the "Richmond National Cemetery". The majority of the soldiers had been buried to the north, and to the east of the City Hospital (for smallpox). Interments were also made in the vicinity of the Poorhouse. It was reported that 428 soldiers were removed from the City Hospital, and 128 from the vicinity of the Poorhouse.[14][15][16] The City Hospital building was converted into the Colored Almshouse, which then opened its doors in April of 1868.[17] The City Hospital was included on the 1842 Bates Map, and appears to have been constructed about that time. It was located directly to the east of the walled Shockoe Hill Cemetery. Its grounds were added to the African Burying Ground by the City Council in 1850. The 1816 plan of the city property shows that the northern grounds of the hospital were already in use for the interment of paupers who had died at the Poorhouse, both black and white.

This burying ground has suffered many atrocities. Throughout its years of operation, it was a main target for body snatching by and for the medical colleges, especially the Medical College of Virginia and the University of Virginia.[18][19][20] It suffered from the explosion of a gun powder magazine on April 3, 1865, and the later construction of 2 new powder magazines built upon it in 1867. Its grounds were disposed of by the city of Richmond. Portions of it became part of the Hebrew Cemetery. In addition, it has had roads, a railway, and the highway run through it. An old Sunoco gas station sits upon a portion of its original 2 acres, along with a billboard; while other parts lie beneath Interstate-64, 5th St., and also Hospital St. The list of abuses does not stop there, and the site remains threatened to this day.[21]

Reports of interments were regularly made and submitted to Richmond City Council by the Superintendent of the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground. It is estimated that over 22,000 interments were made in the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground, likely making it the largest burial ground of free people of color and the enslaved in the United States. It is presently referred to by some as the "2nd African Burial Ground" or "second African Burying Ground",[12][22] and "African Burial Ground II".