Do you know that beneath a school and recreation center lies a forgotten history? This is Payne Cemetery. It is a place where thousands of African Americans found their final resting place.
Payne Cemetery, established in 1851 by John Payne, served as a vital burial ground for Washington D.C.’s Black community. Payne was a free African American man. He dedicated 13 acres of his land for this purpose.
In the late 1800s, Payne’s was one of the “big five” Black cemeteries in the city. Despite its importance, it was poorly managed. Burials at Payne Cemetery included unmarked graves of enslaved people. There were also unidentified interments. Illegal burials occurred, often at night. This was due to the high cost of official burials that many families couldn’t afford. By some estimates, as many as 39,000 people were buried here.
The Payne’s Cemetery Association was officially chartered in 1896. It aimed to manage and maintain the cemetery. But by the early to mid-1900s, the association sold the graveyard to P.D. Badia. Burials ceased in 1959.
Later, a real estate developer named Louis H. Bell bought the land in 1961. Bell claimed to have moved over 37,000 bodies to National Harmony Memorial Park in Maryland. However, not all graves were moved. Some families found their loved ones buried under feet of earth.
In 1966, the city declared Payne Cemetery abandoned. About 2,000 graves were moved. In 1978, Fletcher-Johnson Middle School and a recreation center were built on the site. This erased much of the cemetery’s physical presence.
Today, Payne Cemetery remains a poignant reminder of Washington D.C.’s past. It tells a story of community, hardship, and the struggle for recognition. Although the headstones are gone, the memories of those interred here live on. They echo through the halls of the school and the fields of the recreation center. The ground beneath our feet holds stories of resilience and remembrance. It serves as a testament to a community that once thrived here.