St. Nicholas Cemetery

St. Nicholas Cemetery is one of the oldest and largest cemeteries associated with the historic African American communities of St. Nicholas, Philips, and Larsen/Pine Forest of South Jacksonville. Other associated community names include Spring Glen, Spring Park, Hogan, and Southside. The cemetery was referenced in a 1910 deed, but an older section has burials that predate the deed.

This section was associated with the Mount Zion Baptist Church of Spring Park, founded in 1874. Because of the cemetery’s long history, St. Nicholas has a large variety of grave types, materials, and symbolism. The most common types of funerary art are headstones made of marble, granite, cement, and cast stone.

Some markers are homemade from cement, often decorated with ceramic tiles, and with inscriptions engraved by hand. The cemetery includes approximately 974 identifiable graves. At least seven black veterans from the 21st, 33rd, and 34th United States Colored Troops are buried in the cemetery. According to oral tradition, the cemetery’s older section was donated by the Francis Richard family, who received a 16,000-acre land grant in the area during Florida’s Second Spanish Period (1783-1821).