(MURFREESBORO)  The Rutherford County Archeological Society is partnering with the African-American Heritage Society of Rutherford County and Oaklands Mansion to complete a study of potential graves in Section M and create a monument in Evergreen Cemetery to honor slaves from the planatation era who are buried in unmarked graves there. 

The new monument will be located near a unique old metal monument that is well-worn by time. The only readable words on that surface are CARRIE. 

African-American Heritage Society of Rutherford County President Mary Watkins told WGNS . . .

(Oaklands' Photo)  Mary Watkins, who is also a professor at Motlow State Community College, is looking for information about this unique monument in Evergreen.

This past October (10/24/2021), Middle Tennessee State University did a ground penetrating radar (GPR) study of land that is now known at Section M at Evergreen Cemetery. The electronic device was slowly rolled over the earth and it detected where the earth had been disturbed over the past two-centuries. 

Flags were placed in the ground along with the recording of a precise longitude and latitude marking. 

The Oaklands Mansion website explains that from 1814 until 1872, this land was part of an extensive holding owned by the Maney family. With looming financial hardship following the Civil War, Dr. James Maney sold this land to the City of Murfreesboro in 1872 to become a new cemetery.

In section M of the cemetery, are the unmarked remains of enslaved individuals who lived and labored at Oaklands until 1872.

Previously, very little research had been devoted to the African-Americans enslaved by the Maney family. However, Oaklands’ launch of a new 2021 initiative seeks to bring these individuals’ stories to the forefront via “The Untold Stories” project. “The Untold Stories project attempts to give a voice to 87 African Americans who have been overlooked by history,” said James Manning, executive director.

Manning commented, “The initiative names each individual believed to have been enslaved on the Maneys’ plantation and their descendants. This new research broadly increases our knowledge of the African American community in Murfreesboro both during the Civil War and beyond.”

For more information on this project, contact James Manning at Oaklands Mansion, Mary Watkins with the African-American Heritage Society of Rutherford County, or Laura Bartel at the Rutherford County Archaeological Society.