Cemetery a Day in May: Sampson Cemetery (St. Johns)
Cemetery Log Date: May 21, 2013
Sampson Cemetery is located in the middle of a residential development off interstate 95 in the northern part of St. Johns County. The cemetery is unique for the white sand surface that covers the site. There is no rule book for cemeteries, in that they do not all have to have manicured grass lawns, or leaf liter covering the ground. Because of this management plan, the cemetery maintains its unique historic appearance and doesn't face the overgrowth challenge other Florida cemeteries continually work against.
Who: Owned by Sampson Cemetery Association
What: 365 headstones and markers, noted for its white sand
Where: On Leo Maguire Road, off Rt. 210 Google Map
Where: On Leo Maguire Road, off Rt. 210 Google Map
When: Dusk to dawn, 365 days a year with posted clean up days
Why:- Noted for white sand surface
- Wooden crosses
- Large, old oak trees
- Established in the 1880s by Jane Houstoun Braddock
- Interesting approach to marking cemetery in residential area, county brown signs
- Unique rotation of cleaning days with maintenance built into fee structure for plots
For more:
List of Internments by St. Augustine Genealogical AssociationSt. Augustine Record Article: Neighbors OK with Old Cemetery
Text and images: Sarah Miller, FPAN staff.
For previous posts search: Cemetery a Day in May or #CaDiM
Intro, May 1: National, May 2: Oakdale, May 3: Murphy's Creek, May 4: Mt. Olive, May 5: Bosque Bello, May 6: Old City, May 7: Espanola, May 8: Tolomato, May 9: Pacetti, May 10: West View, May 11: Magnolia Springs, May 12: St. Peter's, May 13: Gravely Hill, May 14: Pilgrim's Rest, May 15: God's Little Acre, May 16: Dummet's Grave, May 17: No Name, May 18: St. Monica, May 19: St. Joseph's, May 20: Old St. Joseph's (Duval), May 21: Sampson