Maplewood Cemetery (Durham, North Carolina)
Cemetery in Durham, North Carolina
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Maplewood Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Durham, North Carolina. Many notable local politicians, industrialists, and civic leaders are buried in the cemetery.[1]
| Maplewood Cemetery | |
|---|---|
World War II memorial honoring Carl D. Whitfield Jr. in Maplewood Cemetery | |
 Interactive map of Maplewood Cemetery | |
| Details | |
| Established | 1872 |
| Location | 1621 Duke University Road Durham, North Carolina |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 35°59′37″N 78°55′33″W |
| Owned by | City of Durham |
| Size | 120 acres |
| No. of graves | > 22,000 |
| Website | Maplewood Cemetery |
| Find a Grave | Maplewood Cemetery |
History
Maplewood Cemetery was established in Durham's West End neighborhood in 1872.[2] The land was previously owned by William H. Willard, who received $1500 in the sale.[2] The cemetery was historically for Whites, and served Durham's upper-class families during racial segregation, with Beechwood Cemetery serving the prominent families within the Black community.[3][4]
A section of the cemetery, known as the World War Veterans Plot, is dedicated to veterans of World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.[5]
The cemetery includes graves of forty Confederate States Army and Confederate States Navy veterans of the American Civil War. In 2015, the Sons of Confederate Veterans spent $3,000 to build a Confederate memorial at the cemetery. The granite block with a bronze plaque was vandalized with graffiti written across it saying "Black Lives Matter" and "Tear It Down".[6] It was vandalized a second time in 2019, with "cement or another hard substance" smeared across the plaque.[7]
Notable burials
- Kate Lee Harris Adams (1919–2002), Women Airforce Service Pilot during World War II
- Doc Adkins (1872–1934), baseball player
- Mary Duke Biddle (1887–1960), heiress and philanthropist
- William T. Blackwell (1839–1903), industrialist and founder of the W. T. Blackwell and Company
- Joseph Penn Breedlove (1874–1955), librarian and author
- Wilbur Wade Card (1873–1948), baseball player
- Isaac M. Carpenter (1920–1998), jazz musician
- George Watts Carr (1893–1975), architect
- George Watts Carr Jr. (1918–2006), businessman
- Julian S. Carr (1845–1924), industrialist
- Angier Biddle Duke (1915–1995), diplomat
- Angier Buchanan Duke (1884–1923), trustee of Duke University
- Washington Duke (1820–1905), industrialist and philanthropist (originally buried here but later re-interred in Duke Chapel)
- Bartlett S. Durham (1824–1859), physician, farmer, businessman (originally buried in Antioch Cemetery and later re-interred here)
- Richard B. Fitzgerald (1843–1918), brick-maker and businessman
- John Wesley Fletcher (1940–1996), Protestant pastor
- John Sprunt Hill (1869–1961), lawyer, politician, banker, and philanthropist
- Eugene Morehead (1845–1889), banker
- Anita Morris (1943–1994) actress, dancer, and singer
- Edward James Parrish (1846–1920), industrialist
- Kathleen Peterson (1953–2001), business executive and murder victim
- Marty Ravellette (1939–2007), subject of the documentary No Arms Needed: A Hero Among Us
- Kenneth Claiborne Royall Jr. (1918–1999), politician and businessman
- Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans (1920–2012), heiress, philanthropist, activist, and politician
- James H. Southgate (1859–1916), politician and prohibitionist
- Wallace Wade (1892–1986), football coach
- Mamie Dowd Walker (1880–1960), first woman judge in North Carolina
- George Washington Watts (1851–1921), industrialist and philanthropist
- Richard H. Wright (1851–1929), industrialist