Historic Documentation: Mount Calvary Cemetery Complex

Ryan Chen
Jun 9
6 min read

Identification

Name: Mount Calvary Cemetery Complex

Address: Pulaski Street & Deep Creek Boulevard, Portsmouth, VA 23704

Year Built: 1879, later expanded/combined with nearby cemeteries throughout the late 19th and early 20th century

Design Typology: Historic cemetery complex / funerary cultural landscape

Purpose: Primarily African American burial ground

Current Status: Closed to future burials.

Overview

Located between Pulaski Street and Deep Creek Boulevard, the Mount Calvary Cemetery Complex was established in 1879 in Portsmouth, Virginia. The site spans about 14 acres and consists of four adjacent cemeteries: a potter's field, Mt. Olive, Fisher's Hill, and Mt. Calvary.

Historically, the complex served as a burial site for African Americans and contains 8,000-15,000 interments. The cemetery includes the graves of Civil War and World War l & ll veterans, along with local politicians, educators, artists, and other prominent members of the Portsmouth community.

Today, the site is currently closed to new burials but is still advocated for by local African American heritage and historical groups.

Historical Background/Analysis

The first established cemetery of this complex is the Mt. Olive cemetery. The land for Mt. Olive was purchased in 1879 by a group of African Americans known as the Mount Oliver Club of Portsmouth. During the 1920s, the cemetery became an important gathering place for the local Black community, with newspaper reporting events at Mt. Olive attracting over 600 people in 1924. However, by the 1930s, economic downturn caused by the Great Depression caused financial hardships for the cemetery. This was worsened by demographic shifts caused by African Americans leaving the Deep-South due to Jim Crow Laws. By 1945, the cemetery was no longer on the city tax-map due to the deaths of the original club members and the absence of a clear operational structure. For the next couple of decades, the cemetery continued to fall into abandonment and disrepair, with many locals describing it as being overtaken by dense vegetation. By the late 20th century, news broke out that the city had been intentionally avoiding maintaining African American cemeteries through racially biased budgeting and strategic delays. This led to increased preservation and restoration efforts by advocacy groups in the early 21st century.

Adjacent to Mt. Olive was a potter's field, a graveyard for poor people and indigent individuals, including victims of a 1855 yellow fever epidemic. The potter's field was purchased by the county of Norfolk in 1882 before eventually being transferred to the City of Portsmouth. This field was intended for use by the pauper class who typically could not afford elaborate funerals or permanent grave markers. However, in the mid 20th century, the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority (PRHA) illegally built a fence around this site. This caused that the cemetery to become a dumping ground for industrial waste and construction debris. Later archaeological investigations in the 21st century discovered additional unmarked gravesites allowing for a better understanding of the potter's field's boundaries and historical significance. City authorities have begun to realize the damage done by PHRA and have taken action to remove the industrial encroachment.

Between 1894 to 1898, African American businessman Samuel Fisher Jr. gradually assembled a 3.05-acre piece of land that became Mount Calvary Cemetery. In 1906, Fisher's death led to an equity case that transferred the property to his son David Fisher in 1910. The land was sold to David's brother, John Fisher, in 1911. During the 1920s, Mount Calvary developed into a more formally organized cemetery with gridded pathways and family burial plots. In the 1930s, Dr. Lonsdale Roper, the city physician, raised concerns that the Fishers were continuing to bury new bodies despite overcrowding, which disturbed older unmarked graves, causing a potential public health risk. Roper offered to pay $1000 to prevent any future burials for those who did not have a pre-existing deed, a private that was left out of city records. In 1944, John Fisher sold the cemetery to Carl Wimbrough before the site was eventually transferred to the Lincoln Memorial Cemetery Corporation. However, the cemetery fell into severe neglect and became heavily overgrown under corporate ownership. Frustrated, a local contractor in 1974 named Warren Holland Sr. used heavy equipment to clear access roads to allow for families to enter. After 60 years of ownership, the Lincoln Memorial Cemetery Corporation sold to cemetery to the city for $1 and by 2010 many preservation groups began major cleanup and restoration projects.

In 1895 Samuel Fisher Jr. also purchased 14 smaller parcels of land immediately north of Mount Calvary that span 0.58 acres from C.S. Sherwood for $1,050, which became known as Fisher's Cemetery. Over time, as Fisher's Hill's boundary with Mount Calvary blurred to the point that local residents began to use the names "Fisher's Hill" and "Fisher's Cemetery" interchangeably. During city debates in 1987 regarding funding, the city records referenced claimed that the land had 15,000 gravesites. However, modern technology and analysis have shown that this mathematically impossible unless graves were stacked on top of one another. Finally, in 2009 the city official confirmed that Portsmouth did not formerly own Fisher's Cemetery despite their acquisition of Mount Calvary. Negotiations with the descendants of Fisher has allowed for the city to acquire and protect remaining parcels in exchange for forgiveness of decades of unfiled taxes.

Although now commonly grouped together as the Mount Calvary Cemetery Complex, the four sites historically were owned and operated separately. This modern identification emerged due to their physical proximity, with locals having long treated the complex as one large space for decades. The first official "merging" took place when state archaeologists legally bounded them under one tracking number when highway construction threatened the area. This encouraged the city to approach preservation efforts on a larger and more unified scale rather than treating each cemetery independently.

Today, the complex has actually seen much improvement compared to its condition during the late 20th century, and most of the heavy overgrowth has been removed. However, although the site still seems well maintained, newer issues are starting to rise. Many of the headstones show significant cracking, erosion, and deterioration. Additionally, nearby highway construction has also caused flooding and water to seep into the cemetery. Finally, a major threat is the drainage issues that will be caused by a planned sound barrier for the I-264 highway, which preservationists fear may further disrupt water drainage around the cemetery. Local organizations5, such as the African American Historical Society of Virginia, continue to advocate for this site through actively cleaning up the site and pushing for increased awareness.

Field Observations/Condition Assessment

Entrance gate is well maintained and in clean condition
Grass appears to be regularly maintained, although weeds are present in some areas and appears to be growing taller in less maintained section
Many headstones show erosion, fading, and loss of surface detail
Several grave plot walls are deteriorating, with crumbling and missing bricks in some sections
Small number of headstones having completely fell apart or collapsed
Fresh flowers are present at some graves, indicating that the complex is not fully abandoned and is still visited
Trees coverage appears well maintained and stable across the site
Construction site nearby, aligning with concerns about external environment impact

Timeline of Events

Year	Event
1855	Victims of the yellow fever epidemic are buried in the potter's field
1879	Mt. Olive Cemetery is established by the Mount Olive Club of Portsmouth after purchase of the land.
1882	Norfolk County purchases the Potter's Field designating it indigent and pauper burials. Ownership eventually transfers to Portsmouth
1894	Samuel Fisher Jr. begins assembling land for Mount Calvary Cemetery.
1895	Samuel Fisher Jr. purchases 14 parcels north of Mount Calvary, creating Fisher’s Hill
1906	Death of Samuel Fisher Jr.
1911	John Fisher acquires Mount Calvary
1920s	Mt. Olive rises as a prominent community gathering space
1925	Formal grid design for Mount Calvary while boundaries blur.
1930s	Mt. Olive begins experiencing financial decline due to Great Depression and demographic shifts due to Jim Crow Laws. Overcrowding concerns rise in Mount Calvary.
1944	John Fisher sells Mount Calvary to Carl Wimbrough and ownership falls under Lincoln Memorial Cemetery Corporation
1945	Mt. Olive no longer appears on the city tax map and falls into abandonment.
Late 20th Century	Advocacy groups and historians begin publicly addressing the neglect of African American cemeteries in Portsmouth
2003	The Lincoln Memorial Cemetery Corporation sells Mount Calvary to the City of Portsmouth for $1.
2009	Portsmouth officials confirm the city does not legally own Fisher’s Cemetery despite owning Mount Calvary. Legal negotiations and acquisition efforts involving Fisher descendants begin.
2010	Preservation groups and city programs begin restoration and cleanup efforts throughout the cemetery complex. State archaeological and preservation efforts help formally group the cemeteries into one documented complex.

References

African American Heritage Sites ^TM. (2026). Stqry.app. https://africanamericanheritagesites.stqry.app/1

Anderson, N. (2023, July 8). Historic Black cemetery in Portsmouth will now receive city care after years of neglect. The Virginian-Pilot. https://www.pilotonline.com/2023/07/08/historic-black-cemetery-in-portsmouth-will-now-receive-city-care-after-years-of-neglect/

Cemeteries. (2021). Portsmouthva.gov. https://www.portsmouthva.gov/2884/Cemeteries?contentId=88be7059-d08d-481f-92ef-dedbcb5867dd

Hubbard, L., & Pilot Online. (2022, August 4). Care for historic Black cemeteries in Hampton Roads depends on the locality. But city support can make a difference. The Virginian-Pilot. https://www.pilotonline.com/2022/08/04/care-for-historic-black-cemeteries-in-hampton-roads-depends-on-the-locality-but-city-support-can-make-a-difference/

Mount Calvary Cemetery Complex Historical Marker. (2023, October 26). Hmdb.org. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=118352

Service, T. N. (2021, May 17). Fort Wool, Mt. Calvary cemetery in Portsmouth make this year’s roster of the most endangered historic places in Virginia. The Virginian-Pilot. https://www.pilotonline.com/2021/05/17/fort-wool-mt-calvary-cemetery-in-portsmouth-make-this-years-roster-of-the-most-endangered-historic-places-in-virginia/

The African American Historical Society of Portsmouth. (2026). Blackhistoryportsmouth.org. https://www.blackhistoryportsmouth.org/mt_calvary_project.htm

Toliver, A. (2021, June 22). African American cemetery in Portsmouth recognized on Virginia’s list of most endangered historic places. WAVY.com. https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/portsmouth/african-american-cemetery-in-portsmouth-recognized-on-virginias-list-of-most-endangered-historic-places/

Trinkley, M., & Hacker, D. (2010). PRESERVATION ASSESSMENT OF MOUNT CALVARY, MOUNT OLIVE, FISHER’S AND POTTER’S CEMETERIES, CITY OF PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA Chicora Research Contribution 533. https://www.chicora.org/pdfs/RC533%20-%20Portsmouth%20%20Part%201.pdf