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Farming For A Better Future, page 145
to slaves. From these records, the following names have been associated with the cemetery: Armstead, Black, Blue, Bugger, Cannon, Childress, Croff, Davis, Fern, Hardy, Hawkins, Hill, Jackson, Kirkman, Malone, Mann, Nusum, Oneil, Rhodes, Sharps, Shoal, Tain, and Thorton. It is also believed that a Forks of Cypress slave named Ester was the grandmother of author Alex Haley. James Jackson, Jr. is said to have had a child with Ester, named Queen, who was Alex's mother. Although unconfirmed, it would not have been uncommon for North Alabama.
The Forks of Cypress was photodocumented in 1935 for the Historic American Building Survey. The house and grounds were added to the National Register
of Historic Places in 1997, even though it had burned down. The Jackson Cemetery and the slave cemetery were added to the National Register in 2000. The slave cemetery is noted for its significance as one of the largest identified African American/ slave cemeteries in Northwest Alabama, certainly Lauderdale County. It continued to be used by descendants into the early 20th century but is closed to the public today.
To the immediate west, across Cypress Creek and Jackson Bridge, was the Armistead Plantation. The Peter Armistead House was one of the first houses built in the state and is listed on the National Register as well. Armistead purchased 600 acres in a land
(Left) Photograph of Jackson Cemetery, 2015 (Above) Drawing of Forks of Cypress Plantation (Historic American Building Survey, 1935) (Findagrave.com via User John Church) (Below) Map of Jackson Cemetery Plotted by Florence Boy Scouts Troop 3, December 27, 1994 (Findagrave.com via User John Church)
Jackson Plantation, Black Cemetery At the Forks of the Cypress
grant on June 15, 1814 and built the house two years later. By 1820, Armistead had moved to Mississippi, but his wife, Marth stayed in Florence at the plantation with the slaves. According to the National Register nomination, the house is significant for “its association with the development of large slave-based cotton plantations in Alabama's Tennessee Valley by descendants of wealthy Virginia planter families.”
The Armistead Cemetery is located south of Forks of Cypress towards the Jackson Bridge. Some sources call this Anderson Cemetery. While there are no Andersons buried at the cemetery, the Anderson School was nearby and may be another local family name. The cemetery is also sometimes called the Armstead Cemetery, without the “i,” a distinction that stems from Emancipation. In an effort to distinguish themselves, the community of color takes the spelling “Armstead.” Although, not a strict rule, slight differences in spelling can differentiate the white and black members of a surname.
The Armstead Cemetery has at least 82 graves and at least 50 unmarked graves. The first known interment is that of Emma Barnett (died 1889 at 49). Common names here are Armstead, Barnett, Crittendon, and Smith. Some landowners are buried here, including Guss Armistead (1857-1955), who owned a farm from at least 1900 to 1940. In 1940, Armistead lived next to Lake Smith (1888-1982), who had owned his farm since at least 1930. The cemetery is still in use.
The 1936 USGS topographic map shows the house at Forks of Cypress and the family cemetery as a
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