Woodland Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia) facts for kids
Woodland Cemetery is a historic African American cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. It opened in 1916 and was created as a special resting place for important African American leaders and families in Richmond. The cemetery's design is unique: it's shaped like an arrowhead pointing north. This shape symbolizes how enslaved people once looked north for freedom.
Woodland Cemetery is the second largest African American cemetery in the Richmond area. Only Evergreen Cemetery is larger. The cemetery was founded and designed by John Mitchell, Jr., who was also the editor of the Richmond Planet newspaper. Its design, with winding roads and terraced areas, was inspired by Hollywood Cemetery.
For many years, private cemeteries like Woodland and Evergreen Cemeteries were the only places where African Americans could be buried in Richmond. City-owned cemeteries were kept separate for different races, even long after slavery ended. From the early 1900s, Woodland Cemetery was known as a respected place for African Americans to be buried. Many important Black leaders are buried here. This includes people who fought for civil rights, doctors, dentists, bank officers, and church leaders. One notable person was an African American woman who worked as a spy for the Union during the Civil War.
For a long time, the cemetery was not well cared for. It became overgrown with plants and people sometimes dumped trash there. In 1993, the city of Richmond helped clean it up. This happened because many news reporters were expected to be there for the burial of famous tennis player Arthur Ashe.
In 2020, a local businessman named Marvin Harris bought Woodland Cemetery. He started the Woodland Cemetery Restoration Foundation. This group raised money to buy the cemetery and is working to restore it. Mr. Harris is also helping to restore the nearby historic Evergreen Cemetery. As of 2022, the foundation is still working to raise more money to finish the restoration.
Notable People Buried at Woodland Cemetery
This cemetery is the final resting place for many important figures.
Sports and Arts Figures
- Arthur Ashe (1943–1993)
- He was a very famous tennis player and a kind person who helped others.
- Arthur Ashe was the first African American to play for his country in the Davis Cup (1963).
- He was also the first African American man to win the U.S. Open singles title (1968).
- In 1975, he became the first African American man to win the Wimbledon singles title.
- Later, in 1981, he was the first African American to lead the Davis Cup team.
- Leslie Garland Bolling (1898-1955)
- He was an African American wood carver in the early 1900s.
Community and Religious Leaders
- Zenobia Gilpin (c1898–1948)
- She was a doctor and a leader in women's clubs in Richmond.
- John Jasper (1812–1901)
- He founded and was the first Reverend of the Sixth Mt. Zion Baptist Church.
- Before the Civil War, slave marriages were not seen as legal.
- Mr. Jasper was given permission by the United States Freedman's Bureau to make slave marriages legal.
