Who Will Save the Safety Harbor Black Cemetery?

The little lot on South Drive in Clearwater is barely noticeable to passing motorists.

Nestled between a small apartment complex and a private home within earshot of U.S. 19, a tattered American flag draped over a rusting gate is the only thing that draws attention to the property.

So it's easy to understand why few people realize the historical significance of the lot — the site is home to the Safety Harbor Black Cemetery, a community burial yard that contains the remains of dozens of African Americans dating back to the late 1800s.

“There’s a lot of people from Safety Harbor and Clearwater buried there,” longtime Safety Harbor resident Goldie Banks told Patch recently. 

“I know people who have whole families buried there.”

Banks herself has several family members interred at the cemetery, including her husband, Eddie, a World War II veteran, and her father, Charlie Smith, a stonemason who was one of the first people to lay bricks over Safety Harbor’s dusty roads.

But despite the site's obvious importance, the cemetery is in danger of fading even further into obscurity.

Years of neglect and lack of proper ownership have left the tiny lot in a state of disrepair; despite a record showing nearly 130 people are buried there, only a handful of tombstones and grave markers are visible today.

"I used to go there and walk around and leave flowers," Banks said, "but the more I went the more I noticed there were people buried there, but I didn't know where because there are no markers."

The History Behind the Mystery

The origins of the Safety Harbor Black Cemetery are as mysterious as the locations of many of the people buried there.

For example, research shows the parcel goes by a variety of names, including the Safety Harbor Black Historical Cemetery, the Safety Harbor Colored Community Cemetery and, simply, the Safety Harbor Cemetery.

Based on conversations with Banks and Yvonne Hedgeman, another local resident who has been charged with the property’s upkeep, the cemetery dates back to the early 1900s.

“It’s where everyone from around here was buried,” Hedgeman said. “There’s so many people buried there they’re probably buried on top of each other.

"They used to put a tin plate with a person's name on a piece of paper to mark the grave," she added. "When the paper blew away, the markers were lost."

Further clouding the efforts to uncover the cemetery's exact origin — and who is responsible for maintaining it — is the fact that despite the name, the property is actually located in Clearwater.

When asked about the site, Safety Harbor city officials said they were unaware such a place existed.

“City Hall was unaware of it because it's in the City of Clearwater,” City Manager Matt Spoor said.

"If the property records show nobody owns the property, the city or state would have to determine who owns it."

A check of Pinellas County property records shows the lot actually has no official address and no taxes have been paid on the property in the last 15-plus years.

A copy of the deed procured by Patch reveals the property was sold to the "Safety Harbor Colored Community" by the St. Paul’s Home Helping Hand Society for $1 in August of 1953.

With no records of either entity still in existence and no taxes being paid on it, Spoor said the land is in a state of limbo.

"What happens to a spot like this is it's on private unincorporated county property, so it defaults to the county," he said. "But no one really wants to take care of it.

"It's a shame no individuals in the community have stepped up over the years to help maintain it."

Where to Go From Here?

Banks and Hedgeman have been doing their part to maintain the cemetery for the past 15 years.

But the small amounts of money they raise through their churches combined with the general disinterest in the upkeep of the property have them worried.

Hedgeman said ideally she would like to see some sort of reminder of all those who are buried there.

"One of our goals was to get a big slate with all the names of all those we know are buried there," she said. "But we used the money to clean the place up.

"I would like to see the city put markers on all the graves because we don't even know where they're at."

Banks said she would be content just to get someone to cut the grass regularly.

"I would like to see a younger person take over, collect the money and take care of the place," she said.

But she really wants to make sure the history of the cemetery lives on after she's gone.

"As long as I'm living, it won't be forgotten," she added. "But after I'm gone, I'm sure it will be. And it's a shame."