Plaque to Commemorate Historic Cemetery

A final resting place for many of Fredericksburg's 19th century black residents will be commemorated later today with a plaque. Today at 3 p.m., a plaque will be unveiled at the Maury Commons Condominums on Barton Street noting the location of the Barton Street Potter's Field.

It's the final step in an . The Maury Commons Condominiums, itself an early 20th century high school building, As part of the agreement, the owners mandated that a second plaque be erected on their property noting the location of Potter's Field.

According to a history provided by Shiloh Baptist Church (New Site), Potters Field is believed to be the primary cemetery for Fredericksburg's black residents, many of them slaves, between 1816 and 1882, when a new cemetery for black residents was established on Monument Avenue. Potter's field was itself created by an act of the Fredericksburg City Council in 1815.

In 1861, with a Confederate army encamped in the area during the Civil War, the City Council designated a portion of Potters Field for the burial of soldiers who died in camp. 51 Confederate soldiers were buried there.

In 1919, the City Council authorized the construction of Fredericksburg High School and reinterred as many remains as could be found in the Potter's Field into the Monument Avenue cemetery. The graves of the 51 Confederate soldiers who died are believed to not have been reinterred. They are likely still resting underneath what is now a parking lot.