African-American cemetery honored
On Saturday, Town Clerk Catherine Flanagan Stover and other town representatives, clergy, friends, and families will gather to unveil an informational marker at the cemetery behind Mill Hill Park. Abronze plaque mounted on a large boulder in the cemetery will replace a small wooden sign on Prospect Street. The placement of the new marker is the fruition of a project that began several years ago and has involved a local bi-racial, multi-ethnic committee and several Cyrus Peirce Middle School students. The text on the plaque reads: "Historic Cemetery; The earliest known burial was in 1798; In 1805 the Nantucket Proprietors "voted that the Black People may fence one acre of land where their Burying Place is"; In 1807 this place was described as "the Burying Ground that belongs to the Black People or People of Color"; Among those who have found their last rest here are members of the Boston, Pompey, Ross, Porte, Grant, Wheeler and Carter families; the families of churchmen Arthur Cooper, James Crawford and John W. Robinson; and four Civil War veterans; Marker placed in 2007 by families and friends with the support of the Nantucket Historical Association."

The question of the "official" name of the old cemetery remains to be determined. In Nantucket Town records, it has been the "Coloured Cemetery" since the 19th century, but in recent years it has been designated "Mill Hill Cemetery." In order to get the sense of public opinion on what the official name should be, Town Clerk Catherine Stover plans to place the question as a warrant article before the next Town Meeting. Whatever the decision, the designation "Historic Cemetery" will remain correct for what is expected to be the very long life of the bronze plaque and the solid Nantucket boulder. Among the notable people interred in the cemetery are Black Whaling Captain Absalom Boston's family; Eunice Ross, the girl who led the campaign to integrate the Nantucket Public Schools; Black abolitionist and businessman Captain Edward Pompey; and Civil War veterans Sampson D. Pompey and Hiram Reed, both charter members of the Nantucket chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic. In 2002 Cyrus Peirce Middle School students under the direction of teacher Barbara White photographed every stone in the cemetery, numbered them, and deciphered the names, dates, and inscriptions. A copy of their report is available as a Research Paper in the Nantucket Historical Association Research Library on Fair Street.

When: Sat., June 23 10 a.m. Where: Behind Mill Hill park Cost: Free