Margaret Lane Cemetery

Margaret Lane Cemetery was originally referred to as the Old Slave Cemetery. This site started as a burial ground for people that were enslaved by Peter Brown Ruffin. Although Ruffin purchased the land in 1854 for this purpose, it is believed that burials likely occurred here even earlier. Local legend states that this site was used for Native American burials. The land was used as a burial ground for both enslaved people and free Black people who died after the Civil War, many of whom lived in both bondage and freedom in their lifetime. The site continued to be used as an African American cemetery, with the last recorded burial in 1931. Due to segregation policies and practices, Black people were not buried in the same cemeteries as white people.

There are many reasons why most gravestones from the original burial sites are not found in the cemetery. One reason is due to the material gravestones were made out of. Some were made of wood and deteriorated over time and some were made of stone. Another reason is several of these stone gravestones have been subjected to theft and vandalism. In some cases, a gravestone was never placed. There are three gravestones that are on display in the cemetery, bearing the names of Daniel Whitted, W.O Parker, and Nancy Whetting. Modern technology is being used to find cavities in the ground, and once a burial spot is found, a small marker is used to show that somebody is buried in that spot. Many burials went unrecorded and as historical research finds names of people in the cemetery, they are added to a plaque in the middle.

In 1917, there was a vote by the General Assembly to move the cemetery and sell the property. Black people and others who were angered by that prospect rallied together in protest and the sale was abandoned. Margaret Lane Cemetery is important to Hillsborough’s history because it recognizes the past mistreatment of Black people beyond death and the continued necessity of historical research to bring recognition to those laid to rest there.