BHNA Board Annual Project: Cemetery Marker

Have you been by the Plantation Cemetery on Betton Road to read the historical marker and walk the cemetery grounds? Well, now you should because you can actually see the marker information to read it. Find out more . . .

BHNA Board Project

The BHNA board started a new tradition this year:  doing a group project in the neighborhood.  We gathered at the Plantation Cemetery to remove the mildew and dirt that had come to coat the historical marker.  It’s shiny now!

Coming Soon

In the coming year we plan to add mulch to the front section of the cemetery to minimize the erosion that is occurring there now.  Plus, in the cemetery, as the weather cools we plan to have some educational programs that highlight African-American history in the Betton Hills area and Leon County.  Stay tuned!

A Too Brief History

The Plantation Cemetery at Betton Hills is located on the north side of Betton Road between Trescott Drive and Randolph Circle.  The site is what is left of a much larger burial ground for African Americans.  The illustration show the current boundary on the left and original boundary on the right.

The Plantation Cemetery at Betton Hills is located on the north side of Betton Road between Trescott Drive and Randolph Circle.  The site is what is left of a much larger burial ground for African Americans.  The illustration show the current boundary on the left and original boundary on the right.

It served as the main cemetery for black slaves and servants from the Betton Hills Plantation as well as other plantations in the area. Most of the graves at the cemetery were marked with simple wooden crosses or flowers which no longer remain.  There is also evidence of the cemetery by the extended depressions in the earth covered with changed vegetation.  One of Winthrop’s servants, Henry Watson, was buried at the cemetery.  His gravesite is at the rear of the current cemetery. 

Sometime after WWI, burials at The Plantation Cemetery at Betton Hills stopped. Today, the remaining parts of The Plantation Cemetery at Betton Hills are included in the Florida Historical Markers Programs.

Cemetery information comes from the:  Neighborhood Analysis Paper:  Betton Hills Neighborhood, Tallahassee, Florida by Kristin Gladwin, Stanton Reecy, and Brian Powers, April 2012.  (Submitted to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the Florida State University as part of coursework for URP5743 ‐ Neighborhood Planning.