Florida Historic Cemeteries

Florida has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 historic cemeteries at least 50 years old, but only 1,624 were recorded in the state's official inventory as of 2021.

Both figures come from the 2021 report of the state Task Force on Abandoned African-American Cemeteries, which called cemeteries the most under-recorded historic resource in the Florida Master Site File and noted that African American cemeteries are not well defined within the recorded total (Task Force report, December 2021). A cemetery can be recorded with as few as one historic grave, and gravestones are not required.

The Master Site File is the state's official inventory of historical and cultural resources, and historical cemeteries are one of its named categories alongside archaeological sites, structures, bridges and historic districts (Florida Master Site File). An earlier legislative Task Force on Abandoned and Neglected Cemeteries, appointed in 1998, found that some counties had more than 100 abandoned or neglected cemeteries and that thousands probably remained undocumented (Division of Historical Resources, applicable laws).

The Historic Cemeteries Program in the Florida Division of Historical Resources, created by House Bill 49 in 2023, serves as the state's governmental center for abandoned and historic cemeteries.

The bill, Chapter 2023-142, Laws of Florida, was signed on May 25, 2023 (Historic Cemeteries Program). The program coordinates Master Site File records for cemeteries established at least 50 years ago, writes guidelines for state agencies, local governments and developers on finding and maintaining them, and researches and records abandoned cemeteries with an emphasis on African-American burial grounds. When one is found, it notifies relatives, descendants, funeral directors, religious groups, nonprofits and property owners, and it coordinates with the University of South Florida's Black Cemetery Network and encourages historical markers for erased or lost African-American cemeteries.

The program sits in the Bureau of Historic Preservation on the fourth floor of the R.A. Gray Building, 500 South Bronough Street in Tallahassee, and the Department of State's main line is 850.245.6500 (Historic Cemeteries Program contact).

Florida law protects all human burials equally, gives descendants a right of access to family graves on private land, and lets counties and cities step in to maintain abandoned cemeteries.

The Division of Historical Resources summarizes the statutes (Division of Historical Resources, applicable laws). Section 872.02 forbids willfully and knowingly disturbing human remains or memorials such as fences, markers and burial plantings, with narrow exceptions for cemetery operators and people working under the Division, and none for private landowners. Section 497.384 allows remains to be moved only by a licensed funeral director with a burial transit permit; neither medical examiners nor the State Archaeologist can clear a project or move unmarked graves.

Two statutes address neglected sites. Section 497.284 lets a county or municipality maintain and secure an abandoned cemetery, or one not maintained for more than six months, using privately solicited funds, and sue the property owner to recover costs; section 704.08 gives relatives and descendants an easement to enter a cemetery at reasonable times and to maintain it if the owner refuses (Division of Historical Resources). Since the mid-1980s the law has also covered burial mounds and other unmarked burials, and section 872.05 requires anyone who knows or has reason to know that an unmarked human burial is being unlawfully disturbed to notify the local law enforcement agency immediately.

Yes, for abandoned African-American cemeteries: the Division of Historical Resources awards grants of up to $50,000 with no matching money required.

The Florida program funds two project types (Abandoned African-American Cemeteries Grants). Cemetery Research grants go to research institutions, colleges, universities and qualified nonprofits for genealogical and historical work to find relatives and descendants of the people buried there; they do not pay for archaeological fieldwork or area surveys. Cemetery Protection grants go to local governments and qualified nonprofits to repair, restore and maintain the cemetery, including conditions assessments and long-term preservation plans.

The grant page lists a solicitation for fiscal year 2028, and applications go through the Department of State's online grant system (grant page). The Legislature determines the amount appropriated each year, and funding for all eligible applications is not guaranteed (grant page).

St. Augustine National Cemetery, Huguenot Cemetery in St. Augustine and the Key West City Cemetery are three historic Florida burial grounds with histories published by government agencies.

The VA says the old fort barracks was set aside for a post cemetery when the United States gained Florida in 1821, and its Dade Monument, three coquina pyramids, marks graves of soldiers of Major Francis L. Dade's command from the Second Seminole War; the same VA page dates the dedication to August 14, 1842 in one passage and August 15, 1842 in another (St. Augustine National Cemetery). The VA lists visitation from sunrise to sunset daily. Huguenot Cemetery, also called the St. Augustine Public Burying Ground, was the first public cemetery founded after the American takeover, when Tolomato Cemetery took only Catholics, and it holds 19th century funerary art by Charleston, South Carolina, stone carvers (Huguenot Cemetery listing).

The Key West cemetery in the Florida Keys is still active, with about 100 burials a year (City of Key West). The city page lists hours of 7 AM to sunset daily and 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM Monday to Friday for the sexton's office at 701 Passover Lane, with appointments recommended; the phone is 305-809-3986. The page puts the number buried within the fenced 19 acres at 80,000 to 100,000, while its FAQ estimates 70,000. A free self-guided tour map is available at the front entrance.

A forgotten Florida cemetery enters the state record when it is recorded in the Florida Master Site File, which the Historic Cemeteries Program now coordinates for burial grounds at least 50 years old.

The Site File keeps survey reports and staff help citizens, researchers and agencies search its records (Florida Master Site File). A single historic grave is enough to record a cemetery, and gravestones are not required (Task Force report). The Division notes that many abandoned cemeteries were lost as homesteads were subdivided, cemetery operators closed, and churches moved, and it advises special care for stones, ironwork and plantings before any cleanup (Division of Historical Resources).

When abandoned cemeteries are located, the Historic Cemeteries Program provides notification and guidance to relatives, descendants and property owners (Historic Cemeteries Program). The lighthouses and forts guides in this section cover other historic places in Florida.

Last verified: October 18, 2026, by re-fetching the Division of Historical Resources cemetery program, laws, grant, Site File and Huguenot Cemetery pages, the 2021 task force report, the VA St. Augustine National Cemetery history and the City of Key West cemetery page.