Search stalls for erased Black cemetery in Odessa
"They're dead. It's done, and I don't need this kind of aggravation,” said Carolyn Wilson, who owns land where researchers believe there could be graves.
Descendants of a tight-knit Hillsborough County community established by African Americans newly freed from slavery say they are hopeful a local developer and major donor to the University of South Florida will reconsider a new search for an erased cemetery.
It's believed to be on the woman's Odessa property, and she has said the investigation is over.
“I am hoping that a conversation does happen, that we can come to an agreement that the family will be pleased with,” Christina Arenas said of the Keystone Memorial Park Cemetery.
Grave discussions Hopes for a new cemetery search
Arenas traces her lineage to pioneers of this Hillsborough County community. She says Carolyn Wilson, owner of Bay Tree Farm along Gunn Highway where research and oral histories suggest there could be graves, stopped communication with her family after an initial search for the cemetery a few years back.
“It's disappointing,” Arenas said.
10 Investigates reached out to Wilson multiple times. She was not available to speak in person but said in a phone conversation she is not currently interested in discussing the cemetery.
“They're dead. It's done, and I don't need this kind of aggravation,” Wilson told 10 Investigates when asked about the cemetery. “I don't need people coming in on my property saying…they're entitled to disturb my peace. So please leave me alone."
Arenas acknowledged Wilson’s legal rights but questioned if the law was always right.
"I mean, it's her private property now, you know? It's unfortunate that our ancestors' peace is disturbed,” Arenas said. “There are laws and things created to where, you know everything she's done or has acquired is perfectly legal. Even when you think about Jim Crow, right…it was perfectly legal. It doesn't mean it was right, right? But it happened.”
Past searches Researchers previously investigated the land
Wilson previously allowed researchers from the University of South Florida to use ground-penetrating radar and other investigative techniques to search the Bay Tree Farm property where she also lives. USF forensic anthropologist Dr. Erin Kimmerle led the search.
She said her team did not find graves, but an expanded search would be necessary to draw a better conclusion.
Kimmerle also featured the Keystone Memorial Park Cemetery in her 2023 USF exhibit, “What Lies Beneath.” Her research and collected oral histories suggest anywhere from a few dozen to about 100 burials at the site. She says the cemetery appears to have suffered the same fate as other Black burial sites across the Tampa Bay region.
“These are the first settlements where people are coming together, starting businesses, starting churches, thriving and doing well,” she said. “And there's always this tension between being able to hang onto their land and not. And eventually, you see them lose the land and move. And you see some of the other parts of the city developed. "
A storied history Community dates back to pre-Civil War
As early as 1860, Kimmerle says plantation owner William Mobley moved to the area with Black people he enslaved. Arenas says Mobley had children with a woman he enslaved and after emancipation, granted land to those descendants.
“They created a community with their relatives, their kids,” Arenas said. “They built…a safe space.”
That community included farms, homes, a school, church and cemetery.
“They thrived,” she said. “They even ventured out of that community to acquire wealth, not for themselves, but…for us, for me. I mean, think about it. It reached pretty long after their passing.”
However, Kimmerle says over time, several property disputes erased parts of the community, including the cemetery. The church burned in what family members call a suspicious fire before being rebuilt where it is today.
Property records show Wilson purchased the site of Bay Tree Farm in the 1980s, long after the last-known burial at Keystone Memorial Park Cemetery. While Florida law protects human remains from disturbance, there is nothing in state statute that can compel a private property owner to search for graves, even if there is evidence they exist.
Wilson’s previous searches were at will.
Arenas hopes Wilson will decide to search again but says even if she doesn’t, her family’s legacy will live on.
“When we speak their names…it keeps them alive. Whether there is a barn on top of their graves or not,” she said. “Saying their names and keeping the story up and sharing it keeps them alive. So, I'm grateful for that.”
Emerald Morrow is an investigative reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. Like her on Facebook and follow her on X. You can also email her at emorrow@10tampabay.com.