Hurricane of 1928 African American Mass Burial Site
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Hurricane of 1928 African American Mass Burial Site

Also known as Pauper Cemetery

West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida, USA

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  • Get directions 25th Street and Tamarind Avenue
    West Palm Beach, Florida 33407 United States
    Coordinates: 26.73639, -80.06194
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Coordinates 26°44′11″N 80°03′43″WCoordinates: 26°44′11″N 80°03′43″W
NRHP reference No. 02001012
The Hurricane of 1928 African-American Mass Burial Site (also known as Pauper's Cemetery) is a pauper's cemetery and mass grave in West Palm Beach, Florida. It is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The cemetery is situated near the junction of 25th Street and Tamarind Avenue between I-95 and U.S. Route 1. The site is the location in which 674 bodies of African Americans or those of an unknown race were buried following the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, while most of the white victims of the storm received a proper burial at Woodlawn Cemetery, due to segregation laws.
Established in 1913, the property of the pauper's cemetery currently includes approximately 1.03 acres.
The city Pauper Cemetery became the location of the mass burial site.
The 1928 Okeechobee hurricane caused at least 2,500 deaths, most of which were migrant, black farm workers around Lake Okeechobee. Due to racial segregation at the time, the coffins provided were used for the white victims, most of whom received a proper burial at Woodlawn Cemetery in West Palm Beach. The bodies of the black people who were killed, and some of those whose race could not be identified, were disposed of by other means. Some were burned in funeral pyres, while many were placed into mass graves.
The site was designated a US National Registered Historic Place on September 12, 2002. During the 75th anniversary of the storm's landfall in September 2003, a historical marker was added by the City of West Palm Beach
Coordinates 26°44′11″N 80°03′43″WCoordinates: 26°44′11″N 80°03′43″W
NRHP reference No. 02001012
The Hurricane of 1928 African-American Mass Burial Site (also known as Pauper's Cemetery) is a pauper's cemetery and mass grave in West Palm Beach, Florida. It is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The cemetery is situated near the junction of 25th Street and Tamarind Avenue between I-95 and U.S. Route 1. The site is the location in which 674 bodies of African Americans or those of an unknown race were buried following the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, while most of the white victims of the storm received a proper burial at Woodlawn Cemetery, due to segregation laws.
Established in 1913, the property of the pauper's cemetery currently includes approximately 1.03 acres.
The city Pauper Cemetery became the location of the mass burial site.
The 1928 Okeechobee hurricane caused at least 2,500 deaths, most of which were migrant, black farm workers around Lake Okeechobee. Due to racial segregation at the time, the coffins provided were used for the white victims, most of whom received a proper burial at Woodlawn Cemetery in West Palm Beach. The bodies of the black people who were killed, and some of those whose race could not be identified, were disposed of by other means. Some were burned in funeral pyres, while many were placed into mass graves.
The site was designated a US National Registered Historic Place on September 12, 2002. During the 75th anniversary of the storm's landfall in September 2003, a historical marker was added by the City of West Palm Beach

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  • Added: 10 May 2020
  • Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 2705995