Historical Significance And Beauty Of The La Leche Cemetery

shaded by a canopy of trees as shown in figure 5, some of vegetation was planted in memorial of those who have passed on. The significance and beauty of the La Leche Cemetery is influential in the community and is worth preserving for many generations to come.
The burials in the La Leche Cemetery took place in the early 19th century to the late 20th century, soon after the Civil War (Cemetery Records Home for St Johns County). After the war, the cemetery was owned by the U.S. government and under their control and became the first racially integrated cemetery in the world (Tingley, 2015). The cemetery also houses members of society who died after a large yellow fever epidemic in 1645-1655 (Deagan, 2012). Some of the most notable burials in
The six sisters were nurses to the southern Civil War soldiers (Mattick, 2008, p. 2). Mattick states, Ministries in Black and White: The Catholic Sisters of St. Augustine, that “The mission of the sisters in nineteenth century was to carry out works of Christian charity by teaching, caring for orphans, nursing the sick, and providing spiritual assistance for the dying” (2008, p.8). The Diocese of St. Augustine run the cemetery grounds to this day. Soon after the burials, the community realized that the ground was too wet and that future bodies needed to be buried in higher and dryer ground, so they built a Cemetery that is now off of U.S. highway 1, called San Loreneo, and thus began what is known as the “Rural” burial movement (Tingley, 2015). Before this movement, burials
The site is culturally important because of the spiritual connections that people felt with the church and wanted their loved ones to be protected by God, who they felt was present on the site. Their beliefs and lack of prejudice in baring loved ones in land they felt was protected by God himself, regardless of race, religion, or gender, shows an immense amount of compassion that was extended beyond the time period. This is a great example of humanity for generations to come. The La Leche Cemetery also preserves a large part of the religious settlement in North America. It conserves not only the literal bodies of important figures in history, such as the Sisters of St. Joseph’s, but the memories of important periods in time; such as the Civil War and the soldiers that fought for the south. Having the first racially diverse soldiers buried in the La Leche Cemetery is a reminder for generations of how far our country has come as a whole. Archaeologically, the site has much to offer in understanding the lives of the previous inhabitants. Many features and artifacts including the original foundation of a small church that dates back to the early 19th century shown in figure 7 (Murray, 2015). Beads, nails and dishware were also discovered throughout the digs in the La Leche Cemetery, a few of these are displayed in figure 8 (Deagan,