Our Chapter sponsored the Hickory Bluff Cemetery historical marker at the Hickory Bluff Cemetery as our first project as a new chapter.
On Thursday, March 24, 2016, members of the Hickory Bluff Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, Charlotte County dignitaries and local historians gathered at the location of the Hickory Bluff Cemetery in Charlotte Harbor to dedicate the new historical marker for the cemetery. This cemetery is the third known African-American Cemetery maintained by Charlotte County. This cemetery dates back to the early 1800’s when the area was established as Hickory Bluff near the banks of the Peace River. Hickory Bluff later became known as Charlotte Harbor.
Please click link to read the full history of Hickory Bluff Cemetery written by local Historian Scott Shively: Hickory Bluff Cemetery History
Inscription on Marker: The Hickory Bluff Cemetery was established in the late 1800s, adjacent to land purchased on June 2, 1884 by July Roberts, an early African-American settler. Initial burials began following the Civil War when freed African-Americans settled in the area and engaged in farming and fishing. William Curry, an early white landowner added to the original plot and recorded a “colored cemetery” already in existence. Burial records prior to 1908 are undocumented; however, the last cemetery caretaker recorded fourteen known burials between the years 1908 and the final interment in 1947. The cemetery is now owned and maintained by Charlotte County.