Hidden Beneath Asphalt: Unearthing a Forgotten African American Cemetery With 70 Graves in Florida
Ever wonder what secrets lurk beneath your everyday parking lot? In Clearwater Heights, Florida, the asphalt isn’t just a place to park your car—it’s a silent guardian of history. Beneath the pavement lie at least 70 possible graves from a long-forgotten African American cemetery once belonging to the St. Matthew Missionary Baptist Church. Sold off in 1955, most of the graves were relocated, but locals always whispered about the dozens of unmarked souls left behind. It’s like trying to lose a game of hide-and-seek with history—except the buried tales have only started to resurface thanks to some high-tech ground-penetrating radar and a community that refused to forget. So, what happens when modern progress treads over the echoes of the past? Let’s dig in—figuratively speaking, of course. LEARN MORE
The land formerly belonged to a Black church. When the church was sold in 1955, most of its graves were moved but residents always said dozens of unmarked graves had been left behind.
Florida Public Archaeology NetworkAt least 70 graves believed to be part of a 20th century African American cemetery were detected underneath a paved parking lot.
Archaeologists have detected 70 possible graves underneath the parking lot where a cemetery once stood in what was Clearwater Heights, an African American community in Florida. The discovery marks the fourth time in the last year that graves from a lost Tampa Bay area cemetery have been detected by investigators.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, archaeologists examined the site using ground-penetrating radar, also known as GPR.
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