BARTOW, Fla. — L.B. Brown. Dr. Ossian Sweet. The Longworth family. Andy and Tamer Moore. Those are just a few of the notable African American figures who are buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in Bartow.
The Evergreen Cemetery, located in the western portion of Bartow, is the oldest documented and continuously used African American cemetery in the county.
Lawrence Bernard (L.B.) Brown, 1906. (Courtesy: Polk County History Center)
Jayme Jamison, curator at the Polk County History Center, provides tours at the cemetery to share the rich history.
“There’s magic in history,” Jamison said. “It is extremely important. I think what we’ve seen throughout COVID is this need to be connected to the community and it’s driving people to actually walk out of their doors and go to places they’ve never gone before.”
Andy and Tamer Moore are buried at the cemetery. They were one of the first African American landowners in Polk County. They were brought to Bartow as slaves and freed at the end of the war.
“I don’t think people realized, but one of the indignities of slavery was that you didn’t have the right to get married,” Jamison said. “So, at the end of the war, Andy and Tamer legally got married and lived their lives in Bartow.”
Tamer Moore was the first documented burial at the Evergreen Cemetery.
Moore’s son Patrick was one of four African American men who voted to incorporate Bartow.
“This makes it real,” Jamison said, while walking the grounds. “It makes it tangible for people.”
The burial ground was first known as the Bartow Colored Cemetery.
“We know there are 800 visible monuments, markers and burials,” Jamison said. “There is another 1,000 that are partially visible and at least about 800 where there are suspected to be burials but are not visible on the ground surface.”
Dr. Ossian Sweet and his family are buried there. The obstetrician left Bartow to study in France. Later, Dr. Sweet faced trouble after moving to an all white neighborhood in Detroit. A mob showed up at the house. The Sweets fired twice. An innocent bystander was struck and killed.
Dr. Ossian Sweet (Courtesy: Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library)
“What the police ended up doing is they arrested everyone in the house, even the mom and put them in jail,” Jamison said.
With the help of the NAACP, Dr. Sweet was acquitted and a national precedent was established.
“The happy ending is there is that doctrine now that whether you’re Black or white you get to defend your home,” Jamison said.
Jamison said the county decided to take management of the cemetery to help preserve the history. The place that was once a spiritual site during slavery is now grounds for honor and respect.
Dalia Dangerfield
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