Charlotte Harbor Cemetery
Posted by: 
rogueblack
N 26° 57.657 W 082° 04.060
17R E 394031 N 2982557
Marking the area's first cemetery which is now stewarded by the area's first church.
Waymark Code: WM50XN
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 10/23/2008
Views: 36
Charlotte Harbor Cemetery, located on the corner of Church and Harper in Charlotte Harbor Town, is the oldest cemetery in Charlotte County. It was founded in 1879 when the entire area was all Manatee County and Charlotte Harbor Town was called Hickory Bluff.
Trinity United Methodist Church is the steward of the cemetery and rely on congregation and community donations to manage the property and maintain the headstones. As the oldest church in Charlotte County, Trinity United Methodist Church also has a historical marker on its property.
The marker on the outer edge of the cemetery's fence reads:
Established in 1879, Charlotte Harbor Cemetery is the oldest known cemetery in Charlotte County and the final resting place of many local pioneers who braved a subtropical wilderness and Civil War reconstruction to build a settlement on the Charlotte Harbor waterfront. Everyday families, intrepid individuals and noteworthy leaders are all represented here. Their personal monuments are now weathered tombstones.
When Joel Knight died in 1879, his daughter Mary E. (Knight) Giddens and her husband Mathieu Giddens set aside a corner of their property for a burial place. It became the local cemetery for residents over three decades, until the Charlotte Harbor Cemetery land with boundaries as they exist today was deeded to First Methodist Church of Charlotte Harbor (now Trinity United Methodist Church) on May 1, 1908 for $1.00.
The church buildings and the Charlotte Harbor Cemetery were damaged by several hurricanes over the years, including Hurricane Charley in 2004. Meeting continuously since 1879, the small congregation has repaired and renewed the historic grave markers and the cemetery landscape each time. This perpetual-care cemetery is still active and available as a final resting place today.
Charlotte County Board of County Commissioners, 2007
Since the marker is on the outer edge of the cemetery's fencing, it can be visited outside the restrictions of the cemetery's hours.