Woodlawn Cemetery History

1800-1895 Designated as the seat of the federal government in 1800, the citizenry of Washington, DC, was indeed diverse.  Free white residents, free colored residents and slaves interacted to develop a thriving city.  Among the many social needs to be addressed was the need for cemeteries. In 1802, the city established two public cemeteries, the Western Burial Ground (formerly Holmead’s Cemetery) and the Eastern Burial Ground.

Subsequently, several cemeteries dedicated to the interment of the black population were founded.  These included Harmoneon (Harmony) Cemetery (1828), the Female Union Band Cemetery (1842), and Mt. Zion Cemetery (1879), all located in the northwest section of the city.  Graceland Cemetery, founded in 1872 and located near the intersection of Benning Road and H Street, NE, was convenient to the section of the city near the Anacostia River.  Subsequently, disuse and city expansion caused Graceland’s management to seek burial ground elsewhere and to establish a new cemetery.  Thus, Graceland, a predominately black cemetery, became the forerunner of Woodlawn Cemetery.

1895-1930 
Woodlawn Cemetery was established in 1895 at its present site.  The original officers of the association were:  Jesse E. Ergood, President; Charles C. Van Horn, Secretary/Treasurer; Seymour W. Tullock, Director; William Tindall, Director; and Odell S. Smith, Director.   Many of these individuals also were founders of, or associated with, Graceland Cemetery.  The initial interments at Woodlawn Cemetery consisted primarily of over 6,000 re-interments from Graceland Cemetery.  These were made from May 11, 1895, to October 7, 1898. 

No specific information remains regarding the appearance of Woodlawn Cemetery during its early years.  However, there is little doubt that it conformed in upkeep to other popular cemeteries of that time and remained a desirable interment area. This becomes evident by reading the list of recognizable names of those interred there and by looking at the large and imposing grave monuments standing in the grounds.  However, overwhelming factors caused this status to change.  Mainly, the sales of burial sites diminished while upkeep expenses increased.  Thus, any funds once intended for perpetual care purposes were used for continuing maintenance and repair needs.  By 1930, Woodlawn’s beauty began to fade and numerous complaints arose regarding its appearance.

1930-1965
In 1933, civic leader J. C. Wright led one of the first efforts to highlight the need for maintenance at the cemetery.  He circulated a petition that was signed by plot owners who complained of Woodlawn’s unkempt appearance. Noted were miserable roadways, inconvenient briar-grown aisles and antiquated vault facilities.  In his plight, Wright proclaimed that the cemetery was a sad and humiliating challenge.  In 1936, Wright’s action brought about new management of the cemetery.  Known as Elmwood Memorial Park, Inc., this group improved the entranceway, added fencing and a small brick office building inside the main gate.  The Elmwood efforts apparently failed, however, since Wright again complained that the deplorable conditions had returned by 1938.  Woodlawn’s care increasingly depended upon individual efforts.

Throughout these trying times burials continued at Woodlawn Cemetery. In 1940, for instance, the remains of 129 bodies removed from the Colored Union Benevolent Association Burial Ground were re-interred there.  In 1958, there were 1,271 interments at Woodlawn.  Since 1960, however, interments there have diminished significantly.  A second attempt to revitalize Woodlawn took place in 1961 when land speculator Louis Bell acquired a number of lots and became, in effect, majority stockholder in the Woodlawn Cemetery Association.  From 1961-1970, Bell attempted to rehabilitate the cemetery through grading, clearing and restoring fences.  Operating at a loss, however, Bell dissolved his interest in the cemetery. 

1965-Present
From 1967 to 1969, the condition of Woodlawn somewhat improved as the Bell management responded to cleanup notices served by the D.C. Health Department.  By 1970, though, maintenance of the grounds again reverted to volunteer efforts.  On November 15, 1972, Bruce O. Hawkins led a group that incorporated as the Woodlawn Cemetery Perpetual Care Association.  Its goal was to accumulate enough funds through donations to restore the area to a reasonable level of respectability.

During the 1990s, Woodlawn Cemetery was added to the District of Columbia’s Register of Historic Sites and the National Register of Historic Places.

Adapted from material written by Paul E. Sluby, Sr., C.G.