The Hickory Hill Slave and African American Cemetery, located in Hanover County, Virginia, holds significant historical value. It offers a glimpse into the lives of African Americans in rural Virginia from the era of slavery through the Civil War and Reconstruction, and into the mid-20th century. The cemetery comprises approximately 4.25 acres and is situated west of the former Hickory Hill plantation.
Typical grave decorations in a African American cemetery.
Origins and Historical Context
The cemetery's use dates back to as early as 1820, with known burials spanning until around 1938. It is believed to contain at least 149 burials, based on limited field surveys. The site is located just south of the historic border between the Hickory Hill and South Wales plantations, raising the possibility that enslaved people from South Wales also may be buried here.
The Hickory Hill Slave and African American Cemetery is within the historic boundary of Hickory Hill, a former plantation that was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. A short distance south of the cemetery is the site of one of the clusters of housing for enslaved African Americans. A small freedmen’s community was established in the same vicinity by the late 19th century and remained occupied until the mid-20th century.
Encompassing nearly 3,500 acres at its height, Hickory Hill was one of the largest plantations in central Virginia by 1860. Along with grain crops, the enslaved workers cultivated a wide array of fruits and vegetables, likely for consumption on the plantation rather than as cash crops.
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The Civil War came to Hickory Hill during the spring of 1862, first in the form of requisitions for materials from the Confederate Army. After the Battle of Hanover Court House on May 27, 1862, W. F. Wickham wrote in his diary, a search of the slave dwellings at Hickory Hill turned up 5 muskets that had been left behind by Confederate troops from North Carolina, indicating that at least a few of the enslaved workers at Hickory Hill thought it wise to arm themselves, despite that it was illegal for any enslaved person to own a weapon.
By the war’s end, nearly 200 of Hickory Hill’s enslaved African Americans had left the plantation.
The site includes both marked gravesites and grave depressions scattered throughout the enclosed area. Several yucca plants, a species traditional to rural African American burial grounds, are located on the eastern side of the cemetery.
The significance of the Hickory Hill Slave and African American Cemetery increases after the Civil War due to the cemetery’s continued use for more than fifty years as part of several nearby communities established by freedmen and women during Reconstruction. After emancipation, African Americans pursued a range of personal and communal objectives. These Reconstruction Era communities once were found across rural Virginia, but have become increasingly rare since the mid-20th century as population growth and suburban/exurban development have remade large swaths of former farmland.
Documenting the Past
What sets Hickory Hill apart is the rare depth of documentation available about the enslaved persons buried there. From September 1828 until 29 January 1864, William Fanning (W. F.) Wickham meticulously recorded names and dates of death of enslaved persons in his “Plantation Diaries”. He also noted kinship and, in some cases, estimates of age. W. F. Wickham’s lists of enslaved African Americans at Hickory Hill recorded a total of 268 individuals.
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Additional documentation survives concerning the freedmen’s communities established near Hickory Hill during Reconstruction, the 1870s founding of Providence Baptist Church by emancipated African Americans, and the establishment of a school (historically known as Hickory Hill School and as Wickham School) during the Jim Crow era of segregation.
Key Figures and Families
Generations of families associated with Hickory Hill and the Slave and African American Cemetery can be traced back to the early 19th century. After emancipation, these families established their own communities near Hickory Hill and in nearby Ashland, entered the paid workforce, built and ran the Shiloh, Union, and Providence Baptist churches, and supported and attended schools such as the Hickory Hill/ Wickham School.
Records such as these, along with family photos and oral history, provide a rare opportunity to understand the transition experienced by enslaved people from slavery to freedom as well as the course of their descendants’ lives. The generations-long relationships maintained among the descendant community and the Wickham family meant that burials continued in the antebellum Hickory Hill cemetery into the first decades of the 20th century. Through all these means, Hickory Hill’s descendant community have been able to create detailed family trees and histories that preserve the contributions of their families.
Notable burials include Jean’s great-great grandparents, Hannah and William Tolliver, who were enslaved on this land.
The Wickham family resided at Hickory Hill for multiple generations through the 20th century. Their relationships with African Americans who lived at and nearby Hickory Hill continued until the family sold the property in the early 2000s.
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Preservation Efforts
The descendants’ dedication to preserving the memory of their ancestors became vitally important during the late 1980s, when the Hickory Hill farmlands were proposed for subdivision and development. The Hickory Hill descendants mustered an organized campaign to protect their families’ burials. The current cemetery owners have sought to learn from the descendants’ community about their property’s history and importance, including why the cemetery warranted listing in the state and national historic registers in 2020.
Preserving African American Historic Places
The Hickory Hill Slave and African American Cemetery was listed on the historic register due to the efforts of a group of friends and descendants. Eventually, the vision is to create a place of reflection and education, honoring the ancestors who were once enslaved.
The Crenshaw House and Hickory Hill in Illinois
In contrast to the Hickory Hill in Virginia, there is another location with a similar name and a dark history in Illinois. The Crenshaw House, also known as Hickory Hill, was the home of John Hart Crenshaw, a businessman who exploited African-American labor in the early years of Illinois. Crenshaw’s wealth came from the manufacture of salt, with African Americans providing the bulk of the labor.
There is evidence that Crenshaw illegally seized free or fugitive African-Americans to be sold into slavery. He was indicted for kidnapping in 1842 but was acquitted for technical reasons.
The Crenshaw House features unusual additions, including a tunnel connecting the basement to the Saline River and a passageway large enough for a wagon to enter the house. The third floor contains cell-like rooms with barred windows, believed to have been used to hold slaves.
Challenges and Misconceptions
Historic African American cemeteries are receiving long-overdue attention from government officials and historic preservationists for their transcendent importance in the history of African American life. Unfortunately, a common misconception persists that cemeteries are not eligible for the National Register.
The challenge of evaluating cemeteries is rooted in the provision of “Criteria Considerations” that were added to the National Register program’s federal regulations in 1976. More simply stated, cemeteries can be listed in the National Register in much the same way as any historic property - due to age, design, historic events and/or association with historically important individuals. The criteria consideration exists merely to emphasize that a cemetery is not eligible for listing simply because it is a cemetery.
An example that demonstrates the range of values that can be recognized by National Register listing is the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Historic District in Richmond, which includes the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground, Hebrew Cemetery, and Shockoe Hill Cemetery. Both marked and unmarked graves are included in the 43-acre district.
National Register Listing
Another cemetery that was listed, in part, for its information potential is the Hickory Hill Slave and African American Cemetery. A vibrant descendant community has remained in the vicinity and preserved the memory of those interred here. From the 1990s through the early 2000s, the descendants successfully argued for the cemetery’s preservation as various redevelopment proposals were considered. The group also spearheaded the cemetery’s successful nomination to the National Register in 2020.
The Department of Historic Resources hosts a webpage devoted to Historic African American Sites, which features approximately 350 National Register nominations for Virginia properties.
| Cemetery | Location | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Hickory Hill Slave and African American Cemetery | Hanover County, Virginia | Association with African American historical experience, documented burials from 1820-1938 |
| Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground | Richmond, Virginia | Part of a historic district, reflects free and enslaved Black communities |
| Contrabands and Freedmen’s Cemetery | Alexandria, Virginia | Civil War-era burial ground for self-emancipated African Americans |
| Newtown Cemetery | Harrisonburg, Virginia | Founded in 1869 by emancipated African Americans |
