Rest Hill Cemetery

Rest Hill Cemetery is an African-American cemetery in Lebanon, Tennessee.

Rest Hill Cemetery
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	TN 141 E of jct. with TN 24 Bypass, Lebanon, Tennessee
Coordinates	36°12′35″N 86°16′13″W
Area	7.7 acres (3.1 ha)
Built	1867 (1867)
NRHP reference No.	93000212[1]
Added to NRHP	March 25, 1993

The cemetery was established with the help of the Freedmen's Bureau in 1867–1869, during the Reconstruction Era.[2] It was expanded in 1880.[2] It includes the burials of at least 25 blacks who were born as slaves, before the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.[3] There are also civic leaders like J. R. Inman (a co-founder of the Wilson County Colored Teachers Association) and Republican politicians like Jake Owens and Martin Manson, from the postbellum era.[2]

The cemetery has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since March 25, 1993.[1] By 2002, it was mostly overgrown, and the city of Lebanon agreed to restore it.[3]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
2. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Rest Hill Cemetery". National Park Service. Retrieved May 12, 2018. With accompanying pictures
3. Humbles, Andy (July 20, 2002). "Historic black cemetery clings to its secrets". The Tennessean. p. 19. Retrieved May 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.