Freedman's Cemetery Marks a Deep North Dallas Community Story

Freedman's Cemetery, near the edge of Uptown, was established in 1861 as a burial ground for Dallas's early African American population. The City of Dallas Office of Historic Preservation identifies it as a remnant of the North Dallas community, which the city describes as a major segregated African American enclave from the Civil War era into the 1970s.

The site was nearly erased. After the North Central Expressway cut through the area in the 1940s, the graves were covered over and the land became a city park, until renovation work in 1990 rediscovered hundreds of marked graves and many more unmarked ones. A memorial now stands over the site.

It's a part of the city's story to carry with you as you move through here: modern Uptown, Central Expressway, and nearby redevelopment all sit on top of a much older community landscape. If visiting or researching, use the city preservation page and current city notices for access and preservation information.