Around the World in a College Cemetery

Hampton University Cemetery

Hampton, Virginia

 

 

 

The world is an interesting place. However, even more interesting are the people who inhabit this world. There are a vast array of cultures, races, and nationalities. Each is unique and special in its own way. Sadly most of us will only experience a select number of these places, cultures, and peoples  during our short lives. We may read about them or watch shows about them, but for many of us even this is limited. Up until the other day, I would not have considered a cemetery to be a place of cultural diversity. It just goes to show that you never know what you will find when your feet dare to enter the sacred spaces of the deceased. As I entered Hampton University Cemetery, I took a trip around the world and found myself immersed in cultures different from my own.

 

 

It is easy to overlook the small cemetery attached to Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia. As far as cemeteries go it is relatively small  and sits just down the road from the very large VA Cemetery. In fact I will admit that as I immersed myself in the rows and rows of Civil War dead buried in its goliath neighbor, I never even knew this little gem was waiting down the road. I was clued into this fact by a co-worker who shared my love of cemetery exploration and had beat me to the discovery. I greatly appreciated his recommendation and set out to see what was so interesting about this little plot of land. You see the truth is that this cemetery is a diversity lovers dream. Stones faithfully share the heritages and nationalities of may buried here and many are distinctly unique.

 

 

 

I suppose this is to be expected from a college like Hampton University which from its own founding has greatly encouraged diversity. The school's founder Brigadier General Samuel Chapman Armstrong can be found resting in the cemetery between two interesting roughly cut stones. The headstone is a large piece of volcanic rock from his birthplace of Hawaii where his parents had been missionaries. The stone at his feet is from Massachusetts where he is reported to have received his education. His desire in founding what is now Hampton University was to see that newly freed slaves where educated and given the tools they would need to survive in the post war, economically destroyed south. It was here that Booker T. Washington both studied and taught before moving on to Tuskegee University.

Another interesting chapter in both the university and this cemetery was that of the Native Americans who also came to study here. Following the end of the Indian Wars, braves from several of the Plains Nations were taken to Florida and imprisoned there to be used as leverage should the subdued tribes revolt. It was while they were imprisoned, that many felt the need for education. In future years, Hampton University invited many of their children as well as other Native Americans to come and study at the school. Unfortunately many succumbed to sicknesses likely brought on by a much different climate than they were accustomed to. In this cemetery are several rows of these young Native Americans. Their small stones of white marble look strikingly similar to the mass produced military stones and each proudly bears the name of their native tribe. It is quite a sight to behold and seems so out place in this coastal Virginia town.

 

 

 

The diverse nature of this cemetery does not end here though. As you peruse its small number of stones you will find former students and faculty from Zululand, South Africa; Tavoy, Burma; Nassau, Bahama Islands; and Gienfueges, Cuba. Some other interesting highlights include the stone of one young man who's epitaph reads, "A short but complete life." A former music teacher is also present whose stone bears this interesting poem,

 

A bell is not a bell

Until you ring it

A song is not a song

Until you sing it

A love is not a love

Until you share it

 

 

Should you desire to embark on this interesting trip around the world and immerse yourself in diversity simply find where the Shore Road meets the Orchard Road. The Cemetery is contained in this small block like area. Just proceed a short distance down Shore Road past the backside of the large VA cemetery

 



 

Hilltop Cemetry

Orland, Maine

 

Visitors to the state of Maine will find that the state in general is a quiet and peaceful place. Long meandering roads will lead you through sleepy villages and towns. Yet few people realize that Maine is a place of great history. Sometimes that history is local and other times it is of national significance. On a fall day, I set out to explore a peaceful little cemetery which I had often passed. Locals know it well, but to your average tourist, it is hidden away. The town of Orland, Maine sits off the beaten path, although most visitors heading to the tourist town of bar Harbor pass very near to it, and even through a small portion of it.  It is located in midcoast Maine and can be found just north of Bucksport. I have always know it to be a small community, with no great industries and several small farms.

 

 

The Hilltop Cemetery is located on the Castine Road. As you turn off of Route 1 onto the Castine Road, you enter the center of Orland. However, if you blink you could very well miss it. A short ways out of town on the right sits a quiet little cemetery surrounded by white fence. I have often passed by on my way to Castine and thought about exploring this little cemetery. It was almost as if the traditional white farm fence was beckoning me to enter. So on a rainy fall day I finally did. What I found was certainly interesting. The cemetery is the resting place of many of the towns founding families. Although little is known about many of them, this little cemetery also boasts of some wonderful examples of tombstone art. Orland, was settled in the 1700's a short time after Bucksport, so there are still several stones whose designs and dates date back to that era. As I have stated in posts before, this is not so common in this part of Maine. Most older cemeteries in Maine contain the white and granite stones so commonly associated with the 1800's. So any cemetery that offers up these gems here is refreshing.

 

The cemetery contains a few people/ families of interest. Several members of the Hancock family are buried here and from what I have been able to ascertain are relatives of the famous John Hancock, the well known signer of the Declaration of Independence. The other person of interest is a man by the name of Samuel Keyes. He was a Captain during the Revolutionary War and was in charge of a Company of Maine militia. I was able to find out very little about Keyes, except that he served under Colonel Jonathan Buck. If one remebers Buck is the namesake of the town of Bucksport, and whose memorial has created many legends. You can see my post on the Buck Cemetery for more details about this. With this in mind, it is very likely that Keyes, like Buck, played a role in the fatal Penobscot Expedition. He is also know as one of the founders of Orland and one record indicated he built the first ship in the area.

 

 

One final thing is worth noting. Near the back center of the cemetery sits the largest monument in the place. Most of the stones sit low to the ground and take the form of the traditional gravestone. However, this monumnet takes an obelisk form and seemingly towers over the rest. The thing that makes it interesting is that it is completely blank. What is or was the purpose of this monument is a mystery to me. Perhaps some reader of this blog would care to enlighten, should they know more. At first I thought maybe the inscription had simply worn away, but the facade of ths tone seem sto have never been touched. It is almost as though it was placed there to memorialize someone and never completed.

 

 

 

Should you desire to explore this little cemetery, you will not be dissapointed. I praticularly reccomend the fall for this. There are a few large trees in the cemetery and in the fall the leaves turn a very beautiful yellow. To get there follow Rt. 1 through Bucksport and turn right onto the Castine Road. You will find the cemetery on your right about two miles down the road.