Fact Friday 239 - The McCoy Slave Burial Ground
Happy Friday!
There are few physical, tangible remains of the slave period in Mecklenburg County, beyond some scattered and barren graveyards. One, known as the McCoy Slave Burial Ground, stands in farmland just off McCoy Road in Huntersville. There is little there, other than a stone marker, erected in the early twentieth century, which contains the following enscription:
“ERECTED BY ALBERT McCOY'S CHILDREN TO HIS SLAVES UNCLE JIM AND HIS WIFE LIZZIE UNCLE CHARLES & FAMILY”
The church estimates that there are 25 – 50 bodies in the cemetery, which was in use from 1840 to 1880. But, as is common with these sites, there are no markers to indicate placement, names, and dates. Individual markers placed were sometimes large rocks, crockery, or crafted from wood which would have disintegrated many decades ago.
To read about more slave cemeteries in the Charlotte area, check out Fact Friday 101 and 189.
Until next week!
Chris.
Email me at chris@704shop.com if you have interesting Charlotte facts you’d like to share or just to provide feedback!
Information taken from:
May 20th Society on Instagram - @meckdec
“We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and the future.” – Frederick Douglass