JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A historic cemetery in Durkeeville holds far more of Jacksonville’s dead than anyone previously knew. Researchers working with the city have confirmed that 1,200 people are buried beneath what is now a park and community center — more than double earlier estimates.
The site, known as Mount Herman Cemetery, dates to the 1800s. Early documents suggested 100 to 200 bodies were buried on the land. That number later grew to about 600 through records. Now, researchers say the confirmed count stands at 1,200.
A burial ground before the neighborhood existed
A map of Jacksonville from 1887 — held by the State Library and Archives of Florida — shows Mount Herman Cemetery existed before Durkeeville was ever established. The cemetery served as a resting place for families, soldiers from LaVilla, and the formerly enslaved.
The community was established in the 1880s as Jacksonville’s first large cemetery for the Black community following emancipation. LaVilla Mayor Francis LeEngle originally established the cemetery. A private owner — likely one of his descendants — later sold the land to the city…