Greenwood Cemetery (Orlando, Florida)

Greenwood Cemetery is a historic cemetery located in Orlando, Florida.[1]

Greenwood Cemetery

Details
Established	1880
Location	Orlando, Florida
Country	United States
Coordinates	28°32′05″N 81°21′26″W
Owned by	City of Orlando

History

In 1880, eight Orlando residents pulled together to buy 26 acres of land and form Orlando Cemetery. The name was changed to Greenwood Cemetery in 1915 at the request of two of its founders. The cemetery has expanded with land purchases over time and now has 86 acres of land. Sections of the cemetery are dedicated to Confederate veterans, Union veterans, Spanish-American veterans, World War I veterans and World War II veterans.[2][3] [4]

Moonlight walking tours of the cemetery are popular in Orlando. These tours are led by a sexton and it offers a window into Orlando's history.[5] The west side of the cemetery contains the 19-acre park, Greenwood Urban Wetlands, which was established in 1991.[6]

A section of the cemetery contains unmarked plots for the victims of lynchings by whites, according to history professor Vibert White.[7] One such victim, July Perry, who was hung in 1920 after trying to vote in Ocoee, received a headstone in 2002.[8]

In the wake of the Pulse nightclub shooting of June 12, 2016, the City of Orlando offered plots for those killed.[9]

Notable burials

• U.S. Senator Charles O. Andrews[10]
• U.S. Rep. William Thomas Bland [11]
• FL Rep. Edna Giles Fuller, first woman to serve in the Florida State Legislature.[12]
• Francis W. Eppes, intendant (mayor) of Tallahassee from 1841–1844 & 1856-1857. He was also instrumental in founding Florida State University.[13]
• Mayor Cassius Aurelius Boone[14]
• Mayor Willis Lucullus Palmer

[15]

• Mayor John Letcher Bryan [16]
• Mayor James B. Parramore [17]
• Mayor Mahlon Gore[18]
• Mayor James Horace Smith[19]
• Mayor Braxton Beacham[20]
• Mayor Carl Langford [21]
• National Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Tinker[22]
• Journalist and discredited NY Times Pulitzer prize winner Walter Duranty

See also

• List of cemeteries in the United States
• List of cemeteries in Florida

References

1. "Historical Marker".
2. History of Greenwood Cemetery
3. Greenwood Cemetery
4. › images › files › quarterly/ Central Florida Genealogical Society Check |url= value (help)
5. Dickinson, Joy Wallace (19 April 2015). "Tour-leading sexton brings history to life at cemetery". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
6. "Greenwood Urban Wetlands". Retrieved 15 July 2015.
7. Kunerth, Jeff (11 February 2015). "Orange County lynchings: Report finds 34 lynchings in the county". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
8. Dickinson, Joy Wallace (30 October 2003). "Park Will Honor Memories Of Ocoee Race Riot Of 1920". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
9. Weiner, Jeff (June 13, 2016). "Orlando to give Pulse victims Greenwood Cemetery plots". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
10. "Andrews, Charles Oscar". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
11. "Bland, William Thomas". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
12. "Busy author, historical hike leader blazes new trails towards West". Orlando Sentinel.
13. "Francis Wayles Eppes". Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia.
14. "Cassius Aurelius Boone".
15. "Political Graveyard".
16. "John Letcher Bryan".
17. "Civil War Veterans (Confederate and Union), Orange County, Florida".
18. Grenier, Bob (2014). Central Florida's Civil War Veterans. Arcadia Publishing. p. 59. ISBN 9781439646045.
19. Larry Kestenbaum. "Smith, James Horace (1852-1931)". politicalgraveyard.com. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
20. Larry Kestenbaum. "Beacham, Braxton (1864-1924)". politicalgraveyard.com. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
21. "Death Notice: Carl T. Langford". Orlando Sentinel. 12 July 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
22. "Final Rites For Tinker". The Meriden Daily Journal. Associated Press. July 31, 1948. p. 4. Retrieved May 14, 2013.

External links

• Official website