Rest Hill Cemetery Explained

Rest Hill Cemetery
Coordinates:36.2103°N -86.2703°W
Added:March 25, 1993
Refnum:93000212

Rest Hill Cemetery is an African-American cemetery in Lebanon, Tennessee.

The cemetery was established with the help of the Freedmen's Bureau in 1867–1869, during the Reconstruction Era.[1] It was expanded in 1880.[1] It includes the burials of at least 25 blacks who were born as slaves, before the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.[2] There are also civic leaders like J. R. Inman (a co-founder of the Wilson County Colored Teachers Association) and Republican politicians like Jake Owens and Martin Manson, from the postbellum era.[1]

The cemetery has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since March 25, 1993. By 2002, it was mostly overgrown, and the city of Lebanon agreed to restore it.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: [{{NRHP url|id=93000212}} National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Rest Hill Cemetery ]. National Park Service. May 12, 2018. With
  2. News: Humbles. Andy. Historic black cemetery clings to its secrets. May 13, 2018. The Tennessean. July 20, 2002. 19. Newspapers.com. registration .