Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: Hickory Hill Cemetery is the main burial ground for African-American families that lived and worked on Welaunee Plantation. Welaunee was established by Udo Fleischmann, a banker and sportsman and member of the Fleischmann baking goods manuafacturing family from New York, and his wife Jeanne Kerr Fleischmann, who donated land for the cemetery. The Fleischmanns began leasing and purchasing former antebellum cotton plantation land in Leon County during the first two decades of the 20th Century. Tenant farming was common in Leon County for more than half a century, but had collapsed by 1950 when many tenant farmers began to leave as land was sold or used for quail hunting. Hickory Hill Cemetery reflects the ethnic backgrounds, religious beliefs, and settlement patterns of the black community of Welaunee Plantation, and includes grave markers dating from 1919 to 1947. For instance, Mason jars may sometimes be found at the graves of members of the Masonic order. Other folk practices include graves marked with pieces of iron, a wagon axle, or a simple glass container. Hand-fashioned markers can be found on the western side of the cemetery.