Pensacola awards 2 Historic Black cemeteries up to $200K to repair Hurricane Sally damage

Two historic Black Pensacola cemeteries are getting help from the city to aid in restoration efforts.

At the corner of Brainerd and A streets are the Magnolia Cemetery and the AME Zion Cemetery. Together the two ungated cemeteries cover nearly two city blocks with burial plots dating back to the early 1880s.

Hurricane Sally hit the historic cemeteries hard, with large trees damaging grave markers and leaving several heritage trees in a dying state, threatening to drop more limbs that will damage other graves.

The Historic AME Zion Burial Association was awarded a grant of up to $200,000 from the Pensacola Community Redevelopment Agency in a 6-0 vote on Monday.

The grant will provide funding to remove the dead and dying trees from the cemeteries with the specialized equipment needed to operate around fragile grave markers. The city arborist has approved the removal of the trees and the pruning plan.

Rev. Donald Harris with the Historic AME Zion Burial Association said the cemeteries had a long history of neglect until the last decade when the University of West Florida recognized their importance and partnered with the group.

"It was really a disaster," Harris said. "It had much overwhelming growth there, and it's not there anymore."

Harris said the burial association and UWF have secured about $25,000 a year from the Escambia County Tourism Tax to conduct routine maintenance, which has gone a long way in reversing the neglect of the cemeteries. The cemeteries were added to the National Register of Historic Places, and signs have been added explaining their history to any passing historical tours of Pensacola.

"Partnering with (UWF) has been tremendous with the amount of work done for the upkeep and the beautification of those cemeteries," Harris said.

But the damage from Hurricane Sally was too much to handle, Harris said.

"We cannot do the work that is necessary at both cemeteries where these trees have been damaged by Sally, and the markers have been damaged," Harris said.

The organization applied for a commercial improvement plan grant offered by the city's CRA. The grant has not gotten many applicants in the past, but in 2022 the grant's eligibility was expanded to include five historic cemeteries in the CRA Westside plan as unique open spaces that need to be preserved.

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Between both cemeteries, there are more than 2,300 marked graves and 3,200 unmarked graves, according to documents provided by the city.

UWF is partnering with the Historic AME Zion Burial Association to provide a 10% match in pro-bono archaeological preservation work of several graves that were damaged by falling trees in Hurricane Sally.

Councilman Delarian Wiggins praised the project, saying keeping up the cemetery is also good for the surrounding neighborhoods.

"This is something that is needed," Wiggins said. "I pass by the cemetery every day. It's a beautiful cemetery."

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola funding Magnolia and AME Zion cemeteries repairs