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A predominantly African American neighborhood called the Flat once numbered dozens of homes in an area southeast of the original boundaries of Sam Houston State University. As the university expanded in the late 1960s and early 1970s, residents were forced to sell their property and relocate. Southend Cemetery remains the last historic link to the Flat neighborhood. In 1920, community leaders will Ezell, Colonel Williams, Byrd Stubblefield and Richard Dillard purchased five acres from Gibbs Brothers & Company to establish an African American cemetery. The four men were also listed as the original trustees for what was then called Pine Grove Cemetery Association. No record or explanation has been found for the name change to Southend Cemetery. The surrounding area was once deeply wooded and could only be accessed by way of a narrow dirt road. The cemetery has been surveyed to contain at least 200 graves, including dozens of veterans, businessmen, civic leaders, and many other prominent Huntsville individuals and families. The earliest known burial is for Sarah Skelton (d. 1920), and the oldest marked grave is for Eldredge Cox (1843-1924). Noted burials include Sgt. Luby L. Smither, founding member of the first black American Legion Post in Huntsville; and Mance Williams, owner of the city’s first African American-owned auto repair shop. As the city of Huntsville grew, the dirt access road to Southend Cemetery became an extension of Montgomery Road, and its construction from Highway 75 to Bowers Road made the site highly visible. In 1998, a group of descendants and others reorganized the Southend Cemetery Association to care for this special place. It remains a testament to residents of the Flat and generations of African American heritage in Huntsville. HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERY – 2017 |
