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Overview
Established in 1873, Rosemount Cemetery serves Columbia's African American community for more than 165 years. It is bordered on the west and south by the city’s white cemetery, Rose Hill. Rosemount sits on a hill that gently slopes to the east. It is the final resting place for many of Columbia’s prominent black citizens, including Dr. J.C. Halfacre, a prominent physician who served as an alderman from Columbia’s Third Ward. He is possibly the earliest African American to serve in Columbia’s city government. Rosemount serves as a focal point for Maury County’s African American history. Rosemount is the final resting place for many of Columbia’s prominent citizens and heroes, including members of the United States Colored Troops (USCT). And Isaiah Gholston, a builder and a minister, who constructed the Gholston Methodist Church (now Bethel AME Church) on the corner of Glade and Helm (11th) Street. Edmund Kelly also rests at Rosemount. Kelly was a founder of Mt. Lebanon Church and after emancipation he was one of the leading figures in the cause of African American education in Maury County. Cemeteries are a rich source of study and information providing a unique window into the past. Cemeteries serve as a source of cultural and societal memory. Further, they are cultural and historic landscapes, often shaped by fashions and events. Their physical presence reminds us of the past in a more urgent way than books or documents.
