HELPING HAND CEMETERY

 As early as 1870 family records indicate that the African-American community in Jerusalem, VA. was using a parcel of land next to Plank Road in Courtland as a burial ground. Traffic was minimal on Plank Road at that time as wagons often slipped on the loosely placed boards making any trip dangerous for riders and horses. With the thick cover of trees lining the road, families were able to bury their loved ones with dignity and privacy. The land, however, was owned by Judge J.B. Prince, a wealthy white landowner.

In 1897, trustees from Courtland’s African M.E. Zion Church led by Rev. O.G. Jenkins met with Judge Prince with an offer to buy the graveyard. O.G. Jenkins known as the “Reverend of Comfort” for black men sentenced to hang by Judge Prince had developed a unique relationship with the Judge and thus the Judge agreed to sell a parcel of land to trustees John Napoleon Darden, J. Epps, Walter and Booker Hardy, J. Blount, and Rev. Jenkins. The trustees had to agree that the burial ground would be used for “coloreds only,” and that they would take full responsibility for its care. On May 27, 1897, the deed was signed and the burial ground was named the Courtland Colored Cemetery.

Solomon Stevens, a Civil War veteran, donated additional land to the trustees to expand the cemetery.

In 1913, led by a local teacher, Ursula Evans, Courtland Colored Cemetery was renamed Helping Hand Cemetery joining the movement of southern black institutions becoming benevolent organizations created to support African-Americans with unemployment, health, and burial assistance.

In 1914 trustees James Peterson, donated an old church which became the Helping Hand Cemetery headquarters and business office. A community group of local black leaders then created The Helping Hand Cemetery Club which has maintained this historic cemetery to this day.

In 2023, current trustees President Alton Darden, V. Pres. Dr. Melvin Johnson, Administrator Dolores Peterson, Grounds Supervisor Elmer Bob Barnes,and Treasurer Rosilyn Bryant received Helping Hand Cemetery’s historic designation and marker from the State of Virginia Dept. of Historic Resources.