The Willow Lawn Cemetery is an African-American burial place just west of downtown Lake Wales. It…read moreis located next door to Washington Park across Highway 27, on Washington Avenue near Florida's Natural. The Lake Wales Cemetery was established in 1918 when the Lake Wales Land Company that founded the city donated 9.3 acres of land "on a pine knoll west of town" for a cemetery. Additional land was acquired in 1938, and the Lake Wales Cemetery on U.S. Highway 27 was expanded to its current 27.4 acres. Only whites could be buried there because of the segregation laws in place at the time which necessitated the creation of a place where the African-American community could bury their dead. According to a sign in the back of the Willow Lawn Cemetery, it looks like this place was used as an unofficial place of burial for the African-American community long before it became a recognized cemetery. The 10-acre Willow Lawn Cemetery on Washington Avenue was deeded to the City by a group of African-American community churches in 1941. The oldest part of the cemetery is a back field area where there is a single sign honoring all those buried unmarked in the field before 1941. It is likely that the graves here had wood markers that decomposed over time. Another section of the cemetery contains graves from the 20's and 30's but records were not kept until the 40's and 50's. The earliest people buried here would have come to the area to work in the turpentine industry. The hard work and exploitive practices of the turpentine industry and lumber industry were documented by Zora Neale Hurston in her famous work, Of Mule and Men. Later African-Americans found work in the railroad and citrus industries. In 1921 the Lake Wales Land Company subdivided a new plat just north of town on the other side of the railroad tracks for the African-American community known informally as "the Quarters." Many of the citrus packing houses were built in the surrounding areas which the community worked at. Interestingly this hallowed historic land is still used as a cemetery today. As such it is well maintained. The Willow Lawn Cemetery holds the history of the African-American pioneers who built Lake Wales. More can be leaned about the early settlers and history of the cemetery from the Lake Wales Historical Society.

Shae and Bill took very very good care of everything! Shae took me by the hand at every step! Bill…read moreeven reached out afterwards to see how my family was doing! A heartfelt thank you to Shae Bill and the staff!

I had a great experience with setting up my future burial arrangements wit Kirk Maclin. He sent me…read moreall the information to make my decisions for me and my wife for when the time comes. Kirk answered all my questions and took the time to walk me through all the details so I could make the decision on the options I wanted. Prices were good and this took a lot off my mind so my wife and children did not have to deal with this in the future. Definitely would recommend asking for Kirk. Michael

As horrible as it is to be a repeat customer of a funeral home I don't think I can express our…read moregratitude to Darnell and his kindness during this time. We have now come to Serenity twice for my Grandma and my dad Both times Darnell walked us through everything making sure we understood our options and gave us the time we needed. What stood out to us is he said "We are taking good care of your dad (or grandma)." He always treated our loved ones with the utmost respect and you could tell he truly cared for them. Thank you Darnell for being our friend through such a dark and sad process. May God bless everyone that is within your care.

yall these people our the ones you need to take care of your loveones.they our good at there…read morejob,when you meet the director mrs april,your in for a treat.all the staff hasa good skills,i have been 10 of there funerals not one hickup whatsoever.place is so clean and its beutiful,im proud of them,and so thankful,from my family to serinty medows family we love you,

This is a lovely old cemetery hidden deep in the heart of Mulberry, FL, south of Lakeland. Like…read moremany old cemeteries, it has its troubles and they are trying to fix them. When I went to find it, I was searching for a Prairie Cemetery or a Bone Valley Cemetery; people call it many things. When I arrived, I found a brand new sign with the name "Laurel Hill Cemetery" and "No Trespassing" signs everywhere. I even saw a sign stating there was a security camera. Since part of this cemetery bordered on a neighborhood, I decided not to take any chances and called the first phone number on the sign. I spoke to a pleasant lady at the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, who owns and cares for this particular cemetery. Yes, it WAS called Prairie Cemetery at one time and is now Laurel Hill Cemetery. I explained to her that I liked going to very old cemeteries and photographing headstones, etc., and I would like to have permission to walk about this cemetery. She was a bit hesitant but said yes. Fifteen minutes later, the caretaker showed up to further investigate me. He was very personable and actually had family buried there himself. He told me that because of the out of the way nature of the place, they had an issue with garbage dumping and other more unsavory things going on there. They are trying to keep control of the yard work there, but being Florida's wild and crazy flora and all, it's difficult to find volunteers these days to devote their time on things like this. This particular cemetery is quite gorgeous. It was, and perhaps still is, primarily African American. Records fluctuate on times of use, but the belief is this place has been used for burial for at least a hundred years, perhaps longer. Different areas appear to be clustered in different burial eras. The farthest away is the most new. I just took a quick look at that, mostly family groups. Many of the older headstones are handmade. Touching and quite lovely, some you can still see the handwriting and others are eroding away with time. (Sadly, the landscape has swallowed up an older section or two that needs to be pruned very soon or lost.) I have a feeling there are many more graves there than are marked. Many. It is so quiet out there. You'd never know you were next to a neighborhood, by a water treatment plant, a rail yard, a highway, etc. The breeze was blowing, the birds were singing, the butterflies were fluttering.

They provided exactly what we wanted at a price we could afford. They were very easy to deal with…read moreand also delivered the ashes and death certificates to our home which we greatly appreciated. I would highly recommend this business to anyone looking for a very simple cremation.

What things aren't permitted y to be left at a loved ones grave? It seems as tho everything I leave…read morethere is gone when I return

The oldest cemetery in Bartow is Pioneer Oak Hill. It was not on city property and could not be…read moreenlarged because it was too close to downtown so in 1890 the citizens of Bartow made a deal to pay Thomas Pasco Carpenter $1.500.00 to purchase ten acres of land in order to create a city cemetery. It is believed that part of the land was already being used as an unofficial cemetery. The oldest burial may be that of John W. Towles who died in 1875. Pioneer Oak Hill only has Confederate Civil War dead but Wildwood contains people from both sides of the conflict. In the 1900's the cemetery was expanded to 40 acres. Burial of Black citizens in Wildwood began in 1975 and in 1984 the city redesigned and refurbished the cemetery grounds. This cemetery is most infamous for being the final resting place of Charlie Smith, "America's Oldest Man". According to his gravestone he was 137 years old when he died! Charlie recounted his life story during a 1978 episode of the television series Visions, titled "Charlie Smith and the Fritter Tree," According to Charlie he was born in Liberia in 1842, and at the age of 12 he was kidnapped by someone who convinced him that in America fritters grow on trees. After arriving in the United States he was sold into slavery to a Texas farmer who purchased him and named him Charlie Smith. The farmer treated him like a son and upon his death Charlie took his surname. Further adventures ensued when he joined the Union army, moved out West where he worked as a ranch hand, became a professional gambler, ran with the James Gang when they were chasing Billy the Kid, raised a family and ended up as a circus sideshow attraction. The records that have been discovered pertaining to Charlie Smith make it more likely that he was 105 when he died but don't let the truth get in the way of a good story. You can pay Charlie a visit in row 28 near the wall.

I called The Flower Cart of Bartow at 1:45 pm to have something sent to a relative in ICU at the…read moremedical center. They don't allow flowers in ICU, so the Flower Cart put together a small bouquet of balloons attached to a stuffed animal. (My relative loves pigs and they actually had a stuffed pig!) They made great suggestions and my relative received the bouquet within two hours!!! I was shocked and thrilled. Also, the price was excellent! I plan to call and order flowers tomorrow now that she is out of ICU. I highly recommend the Flower Cart. I had an excellent experience and will use them again if needed. --- Called and ordered a bouquet delivered today. They did a beautiful job. Great value for the money. See photo.

Great quality flowers and beautiful artistry! Love having this local business here in Bartow. Can't…read morego wrong buying your flowers here!

3 days ago Blane was the Director for my Father in laws…read morefuneral he was so compassionate friendly and very attentive to our needs. thank you so much for the beautiful service

We used gentry Morrisons last week for my Dad they are the greatest at making the arraignments and…read moremaking you feel at ease . Thank you Blane and staff for all that you do.