People are puzzled after discovering the reason behind a Florida man’s grave being located in the middle of a pavement, sparking curiosity.
In the middle of a sidewalk, there is a single gravestone. This is a very unusual place for a grave.
For many years, people have wondered how and why this grave of man ended up in this strange spot.
Florida man’s grave located in the middle of the pavement
The grave in question belongs to Thompson Williams, who tragically died in 1908 after defending a woman’s honor and life from an assailant.
This tragic incident, which occurred over a century ago, has become the key to discovering the mystery behind the grave’s unusual placement.
Recent investigations have revealed that the grave’s location is far from random.
By digging up old maps from the 1800s, historians and urban planners have uncovered the surprising truth.
The gravestone marks the former Mount Hermon Cemetery, where the black community in the area primarily buried their dead.
“You dig up older maps and I came across an 1800s map of Jacksonville that had a zoomed-in map of ownership in the LaVilla area.
Local historian Ennis Davis explains, “We identified this as the Mount Hermon Cemetery.”
“This alone should let you know that the development of this street and its infrastructure was built over a cemetery, and they moved the grave in the middle of the sidewalk just to do it.”
The family that owned LaVilla Cemetery donated it to the city in the 1940s.
Francis L’Engle’s family originally owned the cemetery, but they eventually donated it to the city in the 1940s.
During this time, authorities decided to remove many of the bodies and construct the Emmett Reed Community Center on the site.
They just left only a handful of graves, including that of Thompson Williams, in their original locations.
This revelation raises a concerning question.
What happened to the countless other individuals buried in Mount Hermon Cemetery?
Freddie Paney, a local resident who grew up in the area, is uncertain about the fate of his own ancestors’ graves.
Paney laments, “I grew up here, but I still wonder if I will ever find where my ancestors were buried, even though I am a native.”
The city of Jacksonville has not yet commented publicly on efforts to uncover the lost graves or provide closure to the community.
Social media reaction
On social media, online users shared their opinions about the unique location of the man’s grave.
If they moved the burial site to build, they have disturbed his final resting place, one user said.
Could you imagine if they didn’t move the Bodies. You could have one under your house or back garden like in the movie Poltergeist.
“The movie said they moved the bodies too. However, they only moved the gravestones,” the second user said.
Another person asked: why the developer who paved over the cemetery left this one particular grave where it was.
This place was once a graveyard; however, is now the center of town, someone commented.