Over the years, the cemetery became overgrown with trees and vegetation. The cemetery suffered damage by the harvesting of timber, and the location and identity of many families’ graves were lost due to overgrown vegetation, as well as missing monuments and other funerary objects that assisted families in locating their loved ones’ graves. The unknown burials and deferred upkeep over the years continue to threaten the cemetery. Listing it in Places in Peril will bring much needed attention to this cemetery’s plight. The Alabama Historical Commission listed the cemetery in the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register on January 28, 2019, and has also provided state grants for locating unmarked graves and to erect fencing.
The Harris Place–Morning Star North Cemetery is located on Dove Road just east of Highway 27 in Cuba, Sumter County, Alabama. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indian Nation held this property until 1830, when it was transferred to the United States Government as part of the Dancing Rabbit Creek Treaty. That treaty included property in Sumter County, including the Harris Place–Morning Star North Cemetery. Richard Harris established this cemetery after he moved to Alabama before the Civil War. This family cemetery includes burials from the Harris, Grant, and Bourdeaux families, as well as the enslaved peoples who died while held in captivity. Born to enslaved parents Mose and Betsy Wallace in 1858, Henry Clay Wallace purchased several hundred acres of land between 1922–1927. The purchased land contained the family cemetery called Harris Place, which was once part of Harris’s property. When Wallace purchased the property, he obtained the tract of land with the cemetery because his deceased parents and other family members were buried there. Wallace changed the name of the cemetery to Morning Star Cemetery, though many in the community still refer to it as the Harris Cemetery. It is known locally today as Harris Place–Morning Star North Cemetery.
Over the years, the cemetery became overgrown with trees and vegetation. The cemetery suffered damage by the harvesting of timber, and the location and identity of many families’ graves were lost due to overgrown vegetation, as well as missing monuments and other funerary objects that assisted families in locating their loved ones’ graves. The unknown burials and deferred upkeep over the years continue to threaten the cemetery. Listing it in Places in Peril will bring much needed attention to this cemetery’s plight. The Alabama Historical Commission listed the cemetery in the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register on January 28, 2019, and has also provided state grants for locating unmarked graves and to erect fencing.
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2/20/2023 11:17:24 am
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Alabama's Endangered Historic LandmarksEach year since 1994, Alabama Heritage has highlighted threatened historic sites throughout Alabama. The “Places in Peril” list has identified more than 215 imperiled historic resources throughout the state, and is compiled by the Alabama Historical Commission and the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation. The locations highlight the results of deferred maintenance, perceived obsolescence, development pressures, and lack of funding—forces that now more than ever threaten our cultural legacy. But awareness is a powerful force, too, and can cultivate a renewed determination to be responsible stewards of our heritage. For more information, visit the AHC or the ATHP websites. Alabama Heritage is proud to bring to you a selection of the places designated as perilous. Please keep your comments to information relevant to the featured place in peril. Alabama Heritage reserves the right to delete any comment that we deem inappropriate. Archives
May 2023
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