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21. Born in Panama Park, Francis Philip Fleming spent much of his early years at his family’s river plantation, “Hibernia” in present day Clay County. A Confederate veteran, Fleming was elected as the 15th Governor of Florida in 1889. A segregationist and Democrat, Fleming was known as strong opponent of civil rights for Reconstruction Era African-Americans. Restrictive poll taxes and “literacy” tests designed to limit the voting rights of blacks and northern citizens living in Florida were enacted during his term in Tallahassee.

22. (Photograph courtesy of Adrienne Burke)

Captain James B. Parramore married Agnes Parramore in 1864 in Madison County, FL. The tombstone makes it appear that Agnes died during child birth. Following her death, he relocated to Orlando, eventually serving five consecutive terms as the mayor of that city. Regarded as one of Orlando’s most prominent citizens, Parramore platted that city’s <a href=”www.moderncities.com/article/2017-mar-the-rise-and-fall-of-an-african-american-inner-city/page/1“>Parramore neighborhood</a> in 1881.

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26. Lucius Augustus Tarquinses Hardee was a Third Seminole Indian War veteran and planter who raised long staple cotton on his “Rural Home” plantation, west of Jacksonville prior to the Civil War. During the war, he was a Captain in the 3rd Infantry, Company, F, which was known as “Duval’s Cowboys”. Following the war, Hardee established the Honeymoon estate on the site of his former plantation. In Harriett Beecher Stowe’s “Palmetto-Leaves”, published in 1872, Honeymoon was described as a thriving post-plantation nursery and Hardee as a pioneer horticulturist. After Hardee’s death in 1885, Henry Flagler purchased much of Honeymoon and redeveloped the former plantation into a railyard and industrial area catering to the Jacksonville Terminal. This large early 20th century wholesale district was recently rebranded the Rail Yard District.

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30. Albert J. Russell was a Civil War Confederate Army Officer from Lake City who enlisted in Jacksonville as Second Lieutenant of the 2nd Florida Infantry Regiment, Company G (“St. Johns Grays”). After the war, Russell focused on raising the standard of public education in Florida. Elected to the Jacksonville City Council in 1877, Russell eventually served as Duval County’s Superintendent of Public Instruction and Florida’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

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33. A large section of Old City Cemetery was reserved as a veterans plot for Confederate soldiers, as a result of the Old Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Home being established in Jacksonville in 1893. The home closed in 1938, following the death of its last resident veteran.

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Other notable individuals buried in Old City Cemetery include:

Princess Laura Adorkor Kofi Called Mother Kofi by her followers, Laura Adorkor Kofi was a Ghanaian minister who arrived in Jacksonville in 1918. A national field director for Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association, she established the African Universal Church in 1927. After a falling out with Garvey, she was assassinated in 1928 while preaching in a Miami church.

Alice Elizabeth Nunn Nunn was a Hollywood actress born and raised in Jacksonville. Although her career spanned 31 years, she is best known for her role as truck driver Large Marge in Tim Burton’s 1985 film Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.

Alexander Darnes Born into slavery in 1840, Alexander Darnes was believed to be either the brother or son of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith and of the family slaves. After serving as a Confederate soldier during the Civil War, Darnes graduated from Howard University in 1880, becoming the first African-American physician in Jacksonville. Well respected for his role during the 1888 yellow fever epidemic, over 3,000 black and white citizens attended his funeral.

Byron Kilbourn Byron Kilbourn is one famed individual no longer buried in Old City. Kilbourn was a co-founder of the City of Milwaukee, WI in 1846. Kilbourn moved to Jacksonville in 1868 to relieve his arthritis symptoms. He was buried in Old City after his death in 1870. In late 1998, Historic Milwaukee, Inc. successfully worked to have his remains returned to Milwaukee because he was the city’s only founder not buried there.

Jacob Brock Jacob Brock was a steamboat captain that was influential in the establishment of Enterprise, FL. During the 1850s, he opened Jacksonville’s first shipyard on East Bay Street. After his death, that shipyard was acquired by Alonzo Stevens in 1877, eventually becoming the Merrill-Stevens Engineering Company. By the time of the site’s closure in 1992, it had become known as the Jacksonville Shipyards. Today, the City of Jacksonville is working with Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan to redevelop the property into a mixed use development.

John Freeman Young The resting place of John Freeman Young can also be found in the Jewish section of Old City Cemetery. An ecumenical envoy to the Russian Orthodox Church, Young was the translator of the Christmas hymn Silent Night and second bishop of Florida.

Historical research courtesy of Adrienne Burke

Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Davis is a certified senior planner and graduate of Florida A&M University. He is the author of the award winning books “Reclaiming Jacksonville,” “Cohen Brothers: The Big Store” and “Images of Modern America: Jacksonville.” Davis has served with various organizations committed to improving urban communities, including the American Planning Association and the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. A 2013 Next City Vanguard, Davis is the co-founder of Metro Jacksonville.com and ModernCities.com — two websites dedicated to promoting fiscally sustainable communities — and Transform Jax, a tactical urbanist group. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com