JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A deeper look into the history of a gravesite in the middle of a sidewalk in Durkeeville shows that while the site has received a lot of attention in the past, there are still many questions that remain unanswered.
The gravesite in the middle of a sidewalk and its inscription gives a clue as to why it’s still there.
The tablet marks the grave of Thompson Williams, a “negro who died on Oct. 28, 1908, from wounds received while endeavoring to protect the honor and life of a white woman.”
But it also gives a clue, that there were in fact, hundreds of other African Americans buried at that location.
There are nearly 200 names of some of the men, women and children, buried at Mount Herman Cemetery.
Nearly two dozen were military veterans, from 1882 to 1901 — but those are not all of the names. Jacksonville’s Historic Preservation Section of Planning located several maps and logs from decades ago.
Williams’ gravesite remains on the site likely because he was considered a hero. And while the hope is that the other bodies were removed, so far there has been no proof.
Matt Soergel, a reporter with the Florida Times-Union, first heard about Williams in 2015 and wrote a story.
“It’s called the story of the ‘Hero’s Grave,’” Soergel said.
READ | A Hero’s Grave by Matt Soergel
“One of our intrepid photojournalists Bob Self was out and about and he told me about it and I was intrigued,” Soergel said.
The two went to the site and experienced the same shock and awe as many others, and then it led them to the newspaper’s archive.
Soergel found newspaper clippings explaining Williams’ heroic story and the incident near the now Kooker Park in 1908.
“Every day there were stories about this and after Mr. Williams died, the citizens of Jacksonville, Black and white, took up a collection through the newspaper,” Soergel said.
That collection led to the tombstone, elaborate for the early 1900s, and the rest of the money went to his widow and 10 children.
Newspaper articles recounted the day Williams was shot while trying to protect Mrs. Kooker from an intruder.
But what about the hundreds of other African Americans buried at that site? Were they removed from the park before the Emmett Reed Recreational Center was built?
News4JAX went to the Ed Ball building to find out what happened to the cemetery over time.
An 1887 map shows Mount Herman Cemetery.
By April 1968, the map shows the cemetery looked like a construction site and I-95 has been open since 1960.
According to the city of Jacksonville, Emmett Reed Park was dedicated on Sept. 28, 1969. The land was donated by E.J. and Mary E L’Engle in 1941.
As of today, a current map states Mount Herman Cemetery is still there along with the park and recreational center — but there are no markers for the bodies.
However, a family plot for the Fagins family remains on the site.
Councilman Matt Carlucci said he wasn’t aware that the marker was there.
“No, I did not and I’ve been over here numerous times and never saw that,” Carlucci said. “It’s a little hidden. It’s a little hidden piece of our history and I would love to know more as the story unfolds.”
So far, there are no records of the bodies in the historic cemetery being removed before Emmett Reed Center was built.
“If we do find out that this was a graveyard, at the very least it might be well to work with the community and see if a historic marker should be put up stating more of the details as to what this property meant to people,” Carlucci said.
For now, at least one hero is acknowledged and will stay there.
News4JAX is still waiting to hear back from the city to learn more about the other heroes and loved ones who could still be underground.