Entry No. 21 — the Tampa file — filed under: cemeteries
Memorial Park Cemetery
Established in 1919 during Jim Crow segregation, this 20-acre historic African American cemetery contains over 6,000 graves, including cigar factory workers and veterans ranging from the Civil War to WWII. It houses the Florida Negro World War Veterans Memorial and was recently saved by the City of Tampa after being mistakenly sold to a private real estate speculator at a tax auction in 2023.
The story
In 1919, Jim Crow laws ensured that Black Tampa residents couldn't be buried alongside white ones. The solution was Memorial Park Cemetery, a 20-acre parcel off what is now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in East Tampa. Over the next century, it became the final resting place for more than 6,000 people—including Ybor City cigar factory workers, community pillars, and Black veterans whose military service spanned from the Civil War to World War II.
What makes Memorial Park absurdly compelling isn't just who is buried here, but how close the site came to vanishing. Longtime owner John Robinson maintained the grounds until his death in 2019. Left without oversight, the county placed the property on a tax auction block in 2023. A private real estate speculator actually bought the 20-acre historic Black cemetery for a song before public outcry forced the City of Tampa to step in, reverse the blunder, and buy the property back that May.
Walk the grounds today and you're standing on ground that was almost paved over for profit. Among the worn headstones stands a rare, surviving piece of Florida history: the 1923 Florida Negro World War Veterans Memorial, alongside a municipal historical marker installed in 2024 that finally documents the city's segregated burial past.
What it's like
You'll find Memorial Park sitting directly on E Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd in East Tampa. It isn't a polished, commercial lawn cemetery—the ground is uneven, headstones lean at strange angles, and mature trees shade thousands of unmarked or barely legible graves. Look for the 1923 Black veterans monument and the municipal marker near the front. It's quiet, reflective, and completely uncommercialized, but because it's managed under the city's cemetery portfolio, access hours can be erratic. Double-check entry status before pulling up.
The move: Pay quiet respects at the 1923 Black veterans memorial monument and view the municipal historical marker detailing Tampa's segregated burial history.
- 📍 East Tampa
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 2225 E Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Tampa, FL 33610
Hours: Added 2026-07-21 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- El Reloj Cigar Factory & Museum (J.C. Newman Cigar Co.) — Many of the thousands buried at Memorial Park were the very cigar factory workers who powered Ybor City's historic manufacturing hub just down the road.
- The Cuban Club (El Círculo Cubano de Ybor) — Pair East Tampa's segregated burial ground with Ybor City's 1917 mutual-aid headquarters to see how early 20th-century immigrant and Black working-class communities organized their own survival and memory.
- Oaklawn Cemetery — Compare Memorial Park's 20th-century Jim Crow origin story with Tampa's oldest downtown burial ground, established in 1850 for 'white and slave, rich and poor.'
Good to know
How did a cemetery with over 6,000 graves get sold at a tax auction?
After longtime owner John Robinson died in 2019, the cemetery lacked active management. In early 2023, Hillsborough County mistakenly put the tax-delinquent land up for auction, where a real estate developer bought it before the City of Tampa intervened and purchased it in May 2023.
Who is buried at Memorial Park Cemetery?
Over 6,000 African Americans are buried here, including Ybor City's historic cigar factory workers, local civic leaders, and Black military veterans serving from the Civil War through World War II.
What specific historical markers should I look for?
Seek out the 1923 Florida Negro World War Veterans Memorial monument, erected to honor Black WWI servicemen, as well as the municipal historical marker unveiled by the city in July 2024.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: tampa.gov · Official site · findagrave.com · fox13news.com · usf.edu
last checked: 2026-07-21