Maple Hill Cemetery, African American Section

About 300 African Americans, including some who had been born enslaved, were interred here in the “colored section” of Maple Hill Cemetery between the 1890s and the mid-20th century. African Americans had been a significant presence in Tazewell County since its founding, representing more than 10 percent of the population in 1800. After emancipation, many remained in this area. Later in the 19th century, coal mines and railroads drew African Americans here from other regions. They helped build the town of Graham (later Bluefield), often working as brick and stone masons, cooks, and midwives. In 2006 a fence dividing the cemetery's white and neglected black sections was removed.