With its earliest grave dated in 1821, Greenwood Cemetery is the oldest official public cemetery in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. That special grave belongs to Mary Ann Meek, a four-year-old child who died a mere two years after Alabama became a state and Tuscaloosa was incorporated as a city. Greenwood Cemetery has been racially integrated from its earliest days and teems with Alabama history – prominent lawmakers, African-American businessmen, American Revolution patriots, a Civil War nurse, both Confederate and Union soldiers, enslaved persons from Africa, as well as immigrants from countries such as Ireland, England, and Hungary, who helped make Alabama a strong and productive state. In total, Greenwood Cemetery is the final resting place for more than 2500 people.
Types of tombstones found in Greenwood Cemetery range from those made of elegant marble to modest sandstone. Family plots may be encircled with ancient iron fencing or brick walls, while humble graves may remain unmarked. As visitors stroll among several great trees, examples of traditional bed-board and homemade markers, false crypts (also known as table or chest tombs), fluted columns, Egyptian obelisks, and Greek urns can be observed. Over all of those items of interest, towers a sorrowing angel.
Although in recent years the cemetery has been allowed to drift into a level of disrepair, there is renewed interest in restoring Greenwood Cemetery to a state of loveliness and quiet dignity. The local Chief Tuskaloosa chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is organizing efforts to clean, repair, and mark the graves of the five known American Revolutionary War patriots, while the nearby Murphy African-American Museum offers cemetery tours of the graves of illustrious African-American citizens. In addition, plans are being made to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Greenwood Cemetery in 2021.
For more specific questions or concerns regarding the event at Greenwood Cemetery please contact rgdaven9@gmail.com or ted.urquhart@cox.net.
To learn more:
Check out the Find a Grave here!
Annual Journal of the Association for Gravestone Studies
Historical Atlas of Alabama, Volume II, Cemeteries by County
For donations:
If you would like to make a donation, please contact these 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations:
The Alabama Cemetery Preservation Alliance, Inc. (ACPA). Website found here
Chief Tuskaloosa Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. Website found here
