Greenhill Cemetery historical marker to be unveiled Saturday

Jimmy Tomlin, The High Point Enterprise, N.C.
·2 min read

Apr. 7—HIGH POINT — The century-old Greenhill Cemetery, where some of High Point's most influential Black citizens are buried, will have its own historical marker dedicated Saturday.

The unveiling will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday on the south side of the historic cemetery, along R.C. Baldwin Avenue, said Phyllis Bridges, a local Black historian who pushed for the installment of the marker.

"We wanted to honor, recognize, remember and bring awareness to this cemetery because of its history," Bridges said. "The people buried there are pretty much the who's who of African Americans in High Point after the Reconstruction period."

Greenhill Cemetery was established in 1910, when the city paid $750 to purchase a six-acre tract for the burial of its Black citizens. Prior to 1910, African Americans were buried in a specially designated section of Oakwood Memorial Cemetery.

Today, Greenhill Cemetery sits on 11 acres and contains 1,250 burial plots.

Among the prominent African Americans buried at Greenhill are Willis R. Hinton, owner of the old Hinton Hotel on E. Washington Street; Alfred J. Griffin, principal of High Point Normal and Industrial School, which later became William Penn High School; the Rev. William Blair, pastor of St. Stephen AME Zion Church and the grandfather of jazz icon John Coltrane; John and Nannie Kilby, owners of the old Kilby Hotel on E. Washington Street; Dr. Garland Alfonso Gerran, High Point's first Black doctor; and E.E. Curtwright, who succeeded Griffin at William Penn High School.

The cemetery is also the final resting place for more than 200 veterans of World Wars I and II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

The historical marker at Greenhill will be part of High Point's African American Heritage Trail, a trail of 12 landmarks deemed to have played a significant role in the city's Black history.

The marker was erected by Yalik's African American Art & Cultural Movement, in partnership with the Washington Street Historical Preservation Society, DRIVE High Point Foundation, Visit High Point and the city of High Point.

jtomlin@hpenews.com — 336-888-3579