The remains of hundreds of African American tenant farmers and their families are being moved from a former Virginia tobacco plantation to a new burial site, making way for an industrial park. This decision has stirred mixed emotions among their descendants, who reflect on the legacy of exploitation and slavery while seeking to give their ancestors the respect and dignity they were denied in life.
A Burial Ground Moved for Industrial Development
The graves, many of which are unmarked, are being relocated from a plantation that was once part of one of the nation’s most significant slave-owning operations. Tennessee-based Microporous is developing the plantation, Oak Hill, into a $1.3 billion battery production facility, expected to create 2,000 jobs. This development has prompted the relocation of the remains of around 275 individuals to a dedicated cemetery about one mile away.
Cedric Hairston, a descendant of those buried at Oak Hill, expressed both hope and concern about the relocation.
“When they were buried, they weren’t considered fully human, but now they are patriots who are coming out of their graves with equal rights in 2025,” Hairston said.
However, he also noted the indignity of exhuming the graves of people who were brutally exploited as slaves and sharecroppers.
“It just seems that 100 or so odd years after their death, there’s still no rest,” he said.
Balancing Preservation with Progress
The decision is bittersweet for Jeff Bennett, whose great-great-great-grandfather was buried at Oak Hill.
“No one would want their ancestors exhumed,” Bennett said. “But having input on the design of the new cemetery and the memorials is a step toward doing this in a respectful way.”
Descendants have been consulted throughout the relocation process, including options for genetic testing on unidentified remains and the design of the new burial site, which will feature a memorial archway.
The relocation of African American graves serves as a poignant reminder of the historical neglect and destruction of Black cemeteries. Many such cemeteries—once vital links to past generations—have been abandoned or forgotten. However, efforts to preserve and restore these spaces are gaining momentum as communities work to reclaim their ancestral histories.
The Troubled Legacy of Oak Hill Plantation
Oak Hill was part of a vast estate owned by the Hairston family, which enslaved thousands of people across 45 plantations and farms in four states. Samuel Hairston, the plantation’s owner, was reputedly one of the largest enslavers in the South.
After emancipation, many individuals who remained at Oak Hill became tenant farmers, often cheated out of wages and subjected to harsh conditions during the Jim Crow era.
“We had no other name to identify with, as the government was collecting data for the census. We brought no last name with us from Africa,” Hairston explained, referring to why some tenant farmers adopted the Hairston surname.
The family’s traumatic history is evident in the stories of individuals like Fleming Adams Sr., Bennett’s great-great-great-grandfather. Born into slavery in 1830, Adams worked at Oak Hill and was buried there in 1916. Bennett hopes to uncover his remains and possibly identify him through DNA testing.
Excavation and Historical Preservation Efforts
The two sharecropper cemeteries at Oak Hill were mostly unmarked, with only moss-covered stones and earth depressions marking the burial sites. The plantation house, once the centerpiece of the estate, burned down in 1988. Despite this, the history of Oak Hill continues to resonate with descendants who are determined to preserve their ancestors’ memory.
The Pittsylvania-Danville Regional Industrial Facility Authority, which acquired the land, has committed $1.3 million from logging profits to fund the relocation project. The archaeological firm WSP has already begun exhuming the graves and transferring the remains to the new cemetery, with a goal of completing the process by early March.
Recovered items such as eyeglasses, a five-cent coin from 1836, and a light bulb are being cataloged and preserved. One grave contained bricks, a sign that the individual buried there may have been wealthy. These bricks will be repurposed at the new site—potentially as part of the memorial archway, inscribed with the names of the deceased.
Descendants are also relying on funeral home records to identify those buried in unmarked graves. Given the challenges of this task, they may inscribe the names of everyone who lived in the area as a tribute.
“We’re rediscovering their stories,” Bennett said. “Hopefully, we can continue to tell those stories to the next generations, emphasizing the significance of our ancestors.”
Originally posted by Lipstick Alley.