Big Changes at 2 of the Oldest African American Cemeteries in Florida

Change has come to the Pinehurst and San Sebastian Cemeteries, two of Florida's oldest African American cemeteries.

Thanks to dozens of community donations, the cemeteries located on the outskirts of St. Augustine now have nine new granite gravestones instead of crumbling or lost grave markers. 

Lucas Elmore, James Axen, Asher Kelp, Marlene Elmore, and Mary Kelp, descendants of some of the recipients of new granite gravestones at the Pinehurst and San Sebastian cemeteries in St. Augustine, Florida.

At the annual fall restoration day at the cemeteries, a special ceremony honored the nine people receiving new granite gravestones, including veteran Leroy Kelp and St. Augustine Record columnist Artemesia Holloway Jones. At the ceremony, descendants of the honorees spoke with gratitude to the donors and organizers and with fond remembrance of relatives buried at the cemeteries. 

"She was the kind of person," James Axen said of his aunt Gladys Delores Kelp, "you didn't go to a nursing home, in our neighborhood, if you got sick, she would come to your home and do everything: cook, feed you - she was the nursing home. She'd put you to bed. I've seen her do that for about ten neighbors. Gladys was that kind of person." 

The efforts to replace the crumbling and lost grave markers began in June of 2023 when the West Augustine Improvement Association launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for replacing lost and crumbling grave markers and for cemetery upkeep. 

"I get emotional every time I talk about it," says Lisa Lewis, WAIA cemetery advocate and grant writer. "I just fell in love with these two cemeteries. They were run down ... needed love and assistance. All of the people who are buried here, you could feel that they wanted someone to honor them, and that's why I got involved."   

Melissa and Dave Saliger with their son Evan 

The Saliger family came to be a part of the cemetery cleanup, but the family has also donated to the Cemeteries GoFundMe. Melissa Saliger says they donated "out of respect for the people who came before us."

 Bartram Trail High School seniors Adam Funderburk and Liam Kamp.

Liam Kamp and Adam Funderburk, high school seniors from Bartram Trail High School, came to join in the cemetery cleanup as a part of the Just Serve club at their school which focuses on service activities. 

"It is just nice to do something other than to sit around the house and to make a change in the world," says Funderburk. "I may not have any ancestors here, but there are people who do have ancestors here, and by being able to clear out some of the vegetation we make their experience better." 

Fredrick Joseph prepared the area before the ceremony.

The local Maria Jefferson Chapter of the DAR has become an active partner in maintaining the historic cemeteries leading the D2 headstone cleaning and spearheading an upcoming Wreaths Across America ceremony. 

Debra Silbar from the Maria Jefferson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution organization in St. Augustine. 

Debra Silbar is a part of the Maria Jefferson Chapter of the local DAR. "These people, especially the veterans who are here they served their country, and we want to honor them. We did a little tour, and we learned that there was a woman here who was in the Green Book. She had a hotel and back in the 50s when African Americans couldn't travel safely, they would stay at her hotel in St. Augustine, and it would be a safe place."

Local singer Ollie Mae Victory honored the people buried at the cemeteries, the donors, and the volunteers with a powerful rendition of Amazing Grace, which cemented the emotional event and left the audience teary-eyed.

The Pinehurst and San Sebastian Cemeteries are undergoing a transformative period and in the new year, WAIA, the small, volunteer-run organization will use a much-needed Abandoned African American Cemeteries Grant to carry out ground penetrating radar mapping of the cemeteries to locate all graves as hundreds of graves are unmarked or in danger of losing their markers. 

WAIA hopes for a strong turnout at the 2025 Martin Luther King Day Community Day of Service event hosted by the student-run West Augustine Nature Society, as volunteers will help prepare the cemeteries for the work that will be done as part of the grant. You can learn more about this event at www.westaugustinenaturesociety.org. 

The first nine granite gravestones are just the beginning, there are still many lost graves at the historic cemeteries. If you would like to help support the cemeteries, you can find the Pinehurst and San Sebastian Cemeteries GoFund here, or you can contact  westaugimprovementassoc@gmail.com.