Community Sunday Favorites: More Graves Discovered in the Yellow Fever Cemetery

PALMETTO -- In 1888 tragedy struck when the yellow fever found its way to Palmetto, carried by a salesman aboard a ship from Tampa. According to reports, residents watched houses on the outskirts of town for the telltale sign of circling buzzards. At the time, no path led to Palmetto’s Old Cemetery located on the corner of  Fifth Street West  and 14th Ave West. As yellow fever took its toll, townspeople had to carve a trail wide enough to accommodate the passage of coffins. From that day forward, the old cemetery became known as the Yellow Fever Cemetery.

Despite popular legend, the cemetery is cloaked in a mysterious fog of uncertainties that have puzzled residents for decades. Historian Ken Burton, president of the Palmetto Historical Commission has spent the last 20 years of his life trying to answer those inquiries.  He exhausted countless hours looking through old newspaper clippings and city, county and state records to try and determine exactly who is buried beneath the surface of the plague-ridden area.  Through his research, Burton discovered an estimated 30 to 40 additional people who were buried at the site, but their names were never officially documented and no headstone was placed at their crown.

”I used to travel all the way to Tallahassee to look up records, which cost 50 cents a sheet,“ said Burton. ”Just when my research was almost complete, all the records went digital and you can access them online – that kinda’ made me mad,“ he chuckled. 

On Saturday, May 5, 2012, Burton will present his findings at the monthly PHC meeting.  He is asking residents who believe their ancestors are buried in the cemetery to come forward during the gathering. Burton hopes his research will serve as an incentive for officials to clean up the cemetery and conduct extensive technological research.

Last November, members of the Florida Public Archeology Network directed a demonstration at the Manatee Historical Village called Cemetery Protection Resource Training, or CRYPT. The program taught historians how to go upgrade and restore Major Adams Cemetery, located on Third Street West in Bradenton. The Cemetery contains about 500 headstones.

”Our organization often holds workshops to help historical societies identify graves,“ said Jeff Moates, director of FPA’s west central region. ”Usually we consider the layout of a cemetery and put together information to determine who is buried where. From what I’ve heard about the Yellow Fever Cemetery, we might have to take it a step further.“

There is no apparent method to how graves were aligned in the Yellow Fever Cemetery. Most graves are overgrown, sporadically placed and not adequately marked; many of the gravestones that do exist are broken in two or knocked over. 

”There really is no history on the cemetery,“ said Burton. ”People have told me all the fever victims were buried in one area and it’s shown on a city-owned map. I’ve found two of the graves on either side of the graveyard, and I never found the map.“

Burton hopes the FPA will help him determine the actual burial sites through ground penetrating radar, or GPR. The method works by shooting radar pulses that send researchers an image of the subsurface. The non-invasive method can detect objects, changes in material, voids and cracks.

”Often we use this method to detect materials left behind by the aborigines,“ explained Moates. ”It is very effective and can even detect a layer of shell that could have some prehistoric context.“

Contrary to the popular belief, only 11 people buried in the cemetery actually died of yellow fever and only two of the graves are currently marked with headstones. The headstones belong to females of prominent local families; Mary Howze, who was married to Capt. James Howze, was the first victim, and Elizabeth E. Wimbish died later of the disease, she was the daughter of a judge. Four sufferers were members were of the Courter family. Other fatalities include Anthony David of New York: a single farmer who had no living relatives, Robert D. McClean, and David and Myrle Zehner. Burton can only find the last names of the remaining losses, Baungarter and Colton, the surnames were all that was mentioned in the local paper at their time of death. 

Burton found a letter written by Doctor Harrison, stating there were a total of 85 cases of the fever in Palmetto. If you’re wondering how much a burial cost back then, Burton has a receipt from S.S. Lamb’s general store – the grand total is $35.36. The amount includes a coffin, suit, shirt, collar and tie, which were all available at Lamb’s store. 

The cemetery was officially closed in 1910, but some exceptions were allowed. The last person was buried there in 1937 and seven or eight bodies were relocated out of the Yellow Fever Cemetery and placed in the new cemetery on 10th Street. 

The historical significance of the epidemic is vast; the disease brought the first doctors to Palmetto. Until yellow fever hit, residents considered the climate therapeutic for a range of ailments, and a good number of them came Florida for its healing benefits only to face deadly outbreaks of disease. 

To read a full account of the Yellow Fever epidemic in Palmetto, follow the link.