{"id":151,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:48:35","latitude":38.31938834838400254056978155858814716339111328125,"longitude":-85.8554291725159970383174368180334568023681640625,"title":"Freedomland Cemetery","subtitle":"","fullsize":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/76a3c30267c8ca9cca2f47346bbf83d5.jpg","address":"","all_locations":[],"zoom":16,"creator":["Alex Covington","Jacob Burress","Trish Nohalty","Tommy Skaggs"],"description":"From the 1850s until the early twentieth century, Freedomland Cemetery served as the main burial ground for Black Americans in New Albany.  Originally called the “Colored People’s Burial Grounds” and the “Colored People’s Graveyard,” it lies in a wooded area off Paoli Pike on the northwest outskirts of town.  Like many cemeteries of its kind, Freedomland fell into disuse over time and was eventually abandoned.  In the late 1980s, Robert Harrison, a local historian, rediscovered the cemetery and called attention to its role in New Albany’s heritage.  Since 1999, students at S. Ellen Jones Elementary School have carried out a series of cleanup and improvement projects that have rehabilitated the four-acre site and made it accessible to visitors.  Today, Freedomland is well known.  It offers a powerful reminder of the role that racial segregation played in the history of southern Indiana.<br />\r\n<br />\r\nSegregated burial practices existed throughout America before the Civil War.  Some cemeteries placed Black American graves in a designated area separate from White burials.  Others prohibited Black Americans.  Many communities established Black-only cemeteries, as New Albany did.  The earliest known burials at Freedomland date from 1854, but the cemetery likely entered use earlier.  Conservative estimates put the total number of burials around 300.  The last internment is believed to have taken place in 1917.<br />\r\n<br />\r\nToday, a marker stands at the entrance to Freedomland Cemetery.  Groomed pathways allow visitors to move through the grounds.  Third, fourth, and fifth-grade students from S. Ellen Jones Elementary restored the cemetery by removing trash from the site, cleaning headstones, and arranging for installation of a fence, benches, and a flagpole.  Students gave careful consideration to the design of the main sign, which displays quotations and symbols from the Black American freedom struggle.  They also installed 300 limestone grave markers.<br />\r\n<br />\r\nFreedomland serves as a fitting memorial to the men, women, and children buried within it.  Burials included former slaves, members of New Albany’s free-black community, and of United States Colored Troops veterans.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":["Ben Schneider, \"Trampled, Forgotten and Lost: A Neglected New Albany Cemetery Stands as an Example to Attitudes of the Past,” <em>New Albany Ledger-Tribune</em>, Mar. 8, 1998, p. 11.<br /><br />Dale Sandusky, “Black History Discovered Lying Dormant in Forgotten Cemetery,” <em>New Albany Ledger-Tribune</em>, Nov. 13, 1988, p. 1.<br /><br />Paula Burba, “Students Still Working to Restore Old Cemetery,” <em>Courier-Journal</em>, Apr. 4, 12, 2004, p. B1.<br /><br />Dick Kaukas, “Young Won't Let Long-Gone Be Forgotten,” <em>Courier-Journal</em>, Apr. 20, 2005, p. B3.<br /><br />“Restoring Freedomland,” <em>New Albany Tribune</em>, Apr 14, 2002, p. B5.<br /><br />Amany Ali, “Old Cemetery in New Albany Given New Life,” <em>New Albany Tribune</em>, Oct. 30, 2000, p. A1, A10.<br /><br />“Freedomland Cemetery: New Albany Township, Floyd County, Indiana.”  Accessed Nov. 1, 2014.  http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inpcrp/freedomland.html"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/76a3c30267c8ca9cca2f47346bbf83d5.jpg":{"id":1171,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Sign on Paoli Pike","description":"A sign installed by students at S. Ellen Jones Elementary School stands at the entrance to the cemetery on Paoli Pike.<br />\r\nImage courtesy of Daniel Vivian.  | Daniel Vivian | 2015 | Daniel Vivian","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/76a3c30267c8ca9cca2f47346bbf83d5.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/739762debb0860f339cb20bca7c7f89f.jpg":{"id":1172,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Headstones","description":"Only a handful of graves have carved headstones. The three shown here are inscribed with the names of the deceased and their dates of birth and death.<br />\r\nImage courtesy of Daniel Vivian | Daniel Vivian | 2015 | Daniel Vivian ","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/739762debb0860f339cb20bca7c7f89f.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/42a53faee0ed7be65e8d079c9613e612.jpg":{"id":1173,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Numbered Markers","description":"Students at S. Ellen Jones Elementary School have installed small numbered stones to mark the location of unmarked graves. More than 350 burials have been identified. <br />\r\nImage courtesy of Daniel Vivian  | Daniel Vivian | 2015 | Daniel Vivian","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/42a53faee0ed7be65e8d079c9613e612.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/7f0ff94f8e7493529098bc1a4a88cf42.jpg":{"id":1174,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Benjamin Banneker Quotation","description":"Students at S. Ellen Jones Elementary have placed signs inscribed with quotes by famous African Americans throughout the cemetery.<br />\r\nImage courtesy of Daniel Vivian | Daniel Vivian | 2015 | Daniel Vivian","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/7f0ff94f8e7493529098bc1a4a88cf42.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/4c6395bdb7fa10536060446122addfa3.jpg":{"id":1175,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Headstone","description":"One headstone is marked only with a hand-carved cross.<br />\r\nImage courtesy of Daniel Vivian.  | Daniel Vivian | 2015 | Daniel Vivian","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/4c6395bdb7fa10536060446122addfa3.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/898a0577b5df1a0a84241f4ad3421778.jpg":{"id":1176,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Headstones","description":"Many graves are marked with pieces of slate taken from the bed of a nearby creek. Others never were unmarked or have lost their headstones. <br />\r\nImage courtesy of Daniel Vivian | Daniel Vivian | 2015 | Daniel Vivian","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/898a0577b5df1a0a84241f4ad3421778.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/be4db3f026cc3a0a0ff42630f490f35d.jpg":{"id":1177,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Path","description":"Students at S. Ellen Jones Elementary School created winding paths leading through the cemetery to provide access to burials. A local Boy Scout troop has built bridges to reduce the effects of erosion.<br />\r\nImage courtesy of Daniel Vivian.  | Daniel Vivian | 2015 | Daniel Vivian","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/be4db3f026cc3a0a0ff42630f490f35d.jpg"}}}