Forrest City Cemetery, also known as City Colored Cemetery and Purifoy Cemetery,[1] is a historic Black burial ground in Forrest City, Arkansas, United States.[2] It is thought that this burial ground was founded around c. 1880, by members of the Spring Creek Baptist Church.[2] The last burials here were in the 1960s, and over time it became overgrown and abandoned.[2] It was rediscovered in 2012, and contains the burial sites for several prominent early African American leaders and politicians.[1]
Forrest City Cemetery | |
| Location | SFC Rd. 702, south of U.S. Route 70, west of Margaret Dr., east of Union Pacific RR, Forrest City, St. Francis County, Arkansas, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 35°00′31″N 90°46′19″W / 35.00869°N 90.77196°W |
| Built | c. 1880 |
| NRHP reference No. | 100007000 |
| Added to NRHP | September 21, 2021 |
Notable burials include Josiah Homer Blount (1860–1938), the first Black person to run for governor of the state of Arkansas in 1920.[3][4] R. A. Williams, founder of the Supreme Royal Circle of Friends,[5] and Wallace Leon Purifoy, principal at "Colored High School" in Forrest City and founder of the Black fraternity the Imperial Council of Jugamos are also buried at this cemetery.[6]
It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2021.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Purifoy Cemetery, Forrest City". Arkansas Democrat Gazette. January 19, 2021. ISSN 1060-4332. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- ^ a b c Clancy, Sean (January 25, 2021). "A buried past: Overgrown cemetery holds little known history of once prominent Black Arkansans". Arkansas Democrat Gazette. ISSN 1060-4332. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- ^ "Josiah Homer Blount (1860–1938)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. OCLC 68194233. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- ^ "The Road to Civil Rights in Arkansas". Arkansas.com. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- ^ "Forrest City Colored Cemetery". Black Cemetery Network. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- ^ Richardson, Clement (June 7, 1919). The National Cyclopedia of the Colored Race. Vol. 1. Montgomery, Alabama: National Publishing Company. p. 91 – via Google Books.