Toussaint L'Ouverture County Cemetery

The Toussaint L'Ouverture County Cemetery is an historical African-American cemetery located in Franklin, Tennessee. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. It is named for Toussaint Louverture, the leader of the Haitian Revolution. The earliest recorded burials date from 1869, but it wasn't officially incorporated until 1884.[2] It is "the oldest African American institution in continuous use" in Williamson County.[3]

Toussaint L'Ouverture County Cemetery
Toussaint L'Ouverture County Cemetery, September 2014.
LocationDel Rio Pike at jct. with Hillsboro Rd., Franklin, Tennessee
Coordinates35°55′50″N 86°52′37″W
Area4 acres (1.6 ha)
Built1869 and 1884
NRHP reference No.95001435[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 13, 1995
Williamson County Historical Marker for Toussaint L'Ouverture County Cemetery

The cemetery corporation which originally purchased the land and established the cemetery failed during the Great Depression in the United States. After the failure of the cemetery corporation, no entity was named successor and all the members of the original board of trustees have died. Consequently, ownership of the cemetery is unclear and no entity is legally responsible for its maintenance.[2]

Care of the cemetery has been support by the Toussaint L'Ouverture Cemetery Club hosted by the First Missionary Baptist Church in Franklin, TN. The club is a volunteer organization funded by donations and headed by Mattie B. Reeves. Starting in 2013, when the cemetery was added to the Historic Franklin Parks Cell Phone Tour, community support for the cemetery has expanded.[4] On September 11, 2014, in cooperation with the United Way's Days of Caring program, about 150 community volunteers, many from the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, cleaned the grounds of the cemetery and headstones. On October 24, 2015, the Cemetery Club held another clean-up day.

No Burial Register exists for the cemetery. Consequently, volunteers have photographed and transcribed many of headstones in the cemetery to the Billion Graves website[5] and the Findagrave website.[6]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. Beall, Edsom (13 December 1995). "National Register of Historic Places Registration". Toussaint L'Overture County Cemetery. United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  3. Williamson County Historian and John E. Acuff (January 1, 2010). "Tennessee Encyclopedia of Culture and History: Williamson County". Retrieved 2012-10-22.
  4. "Toussaint L'Ouverture Cemetery added to cell phone tour". Franklin Home Page. 2013-02-22. Retrieved 2015-10-25.
  5. "Cemetery page for Toussaint LOuverture Cemetery, Franklin, Tennessee, United States | BillionGraves Cemetery Record". BillionGraves. Retrieved 2015-10-25.
  6. "Toussaint L'Ouverture Cemetery". Findagrave. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
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