Johnson City's West View Cemetery: History Laid to Rest that Lives On

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"I wonder where my mudder gone; Sing, O Graveyard!

Graveuard ought to know me;  Ring, Jerusalen!

Grass grow in de graveyard;  Sing, O Graveyard!

Graveyard ought to know me; Ring, Jerusalen!

Negro Spiritual ---

It has been said that probably the most sacred ground to an African-American, is not their land or physical home.

It is the cemetery.. where the remains of their ancestors lie in eternal rest.

From the time of slavery, black people held the lowly ground where their loved ones are entombed.. a reverent ground unique to the struggles that hallowed ancestors endured during their lives. A place where their bodies, made by God from the earth, returned "ashes to ashes... dust to dust."

Back in the day, many places in our country would not allow black people to be buried in white cemeteries, no matter how reverent ancestors were held in regard. Burying black people alongside white people was just not allowed. As a result, to be "separate, but equal," many communities allowed grounds for African-American cemeteries to be established.

The West Lawn Cemetery in Johnson City, Tennessee is one of those African-American cemeteries.

West Lawn holds the remains of many of the area's black citizens, including those whose contributions led to the very beginnings of Johnson's Water Tank, later known as Johnson City. About 40 Langston alumni visited the cemetery as part of a tour of historic sites notable to African-Americans who grew up in the area.

A check of the tombstones shows, the earliest one appears to be 1903. Historian Mary Alexander says, some graves were moved here to West Lawn from Preese's Hill Cemetery (now called Roane Hill), and there are graves here dating back to the late 1800's.

"If you were black and living in Johnson City after the early 1900's," says Alexander, "this is where you were buried. Unless you were buried in Jonesborough, at the VA or in private family cemeteries out in Washington County, West Lawn is where your family buried you. These people were the foundation of black people in Johnson City and beyond. Even now, if you live in Johnson City or have relatives here, you'd be hard-pressed to not have relatives buried here."

Amongst the hallowed ground, is the family plot of Dr. Hezekiah Hankal. The following passage is from the "Langston Heritage" page of Johnson's Depot (along with Johnson's Water Tank, one of the early names for Johnson City):

Dr. Hezekiah Hankal, one of the Founding Fathers of Johnson City, purchased town lot number 12 from Henry Johnson in June 1869 for $300 as a site for the Colored Christian Church. Dr. Hankal helped start a number of historic black churches throughout Northeast Tennessee. Born a slave in 1825, he was reared in the Dutch home of James and Nancy Hankal in what is now Gray, Tennessee and was fluent in Dutch and several foreign languages."

THE LANGSTON ALUMNI GROUP TOURS THE HEZIKIAH B. HANKAL BUILDING, AT THE WASHINGTON COUNTY - JOHNSON CITY HEALTH DEPARTMENT

"The cholera epidemic in July, 1873 brought Dr. Hankal's medical skills into prominence in the white community as his patients lived while many of his white colleagues' patients died. An interracial medical practice began that continued until his death in 1903. Dr. Hankal also was elected alderman in Johnson City in 1887 and his unique combination of medical expertise, educational and spiritual leadership, as well as service as an elected official is noted by several Tennessee Historical Society markers in Johnson City."

"Dr. Hankal had 10 children," says Mrs. Alexander. "His wife was from the Netherland Inn Road area in Kingsport. Richard Netherland had a slave, whose picture is in the kitchen at the Netherland Inn. The woman in the picture is Dr. Hankal's mother-in-law."

In addition to Dr. Hankal's headstone, there are several headstones locating the graves of Dr. Hankal's descendants. Being in the presences of the one of the founding families of Johnson City (and African-American at that), gave many of the tour visitors chill bumps.

"This is indeed sacred ground," one visitor was overhead to remark. "This ground is important. Our history is here."

That thought was echoed by Mrs. Alexander.

"I've told my own children that, even though I have ground at Washington County Memory Gardens, when I pass, just cremate me and scatter my ashes at West Lawn," she says. "This is where our people are. We're getting ready to apply for a Tennessee Historical Marker for this spot, and we already have donations for it. It will designate this cemetery as black heritage ground, for others to commemorate and honor."

Mrs. Alexander says, young people will benefit from knowing how historic the West Lawn Cemetery is.

"Young people need to know where their grannies or their somebodies are, who are resting in this spot," she says. "See that man over there.. the man in the green shirt? He's a retired engineer.. has no people here, no connection to this cemetery at all. But he says, he was 'called here.' Some people are called within themselves to to volunteer work. He has worked in this cemetery and uncovered unmarked graves that have been hidden for years.. nobody really knows how long. He's also worked in the black cemetery at Jonesborough. For him, cemetery headstones are not just markers.. they represent a person."

"Somebody."

The visit to West Lawn Cemetery opened the eyes of all of the Langston Alumni who visited.. some of them for the first time.. for others, a return visit after years of absence. It left a lasting impression.

"Whereever you are and whoever you are today, you are standing on the backs of the ancestors buried in cemeteries like this one," she says. "They created you... the way they raised you, developed your personality and made you what you are. When you have a child, you pass that on down to your descendants. That's what makes this ground reverent.. these people had personalities and traits that their descendants now share."

"When Jewish people were held in captivity, pagan kings gave passage for them to be buried back in their homelands," Mrs. Alexander says. "They even provided money for transporting the remains.. this is documented in history. Even money for the gates that protected the final rest places."

 Today, we have living proof of how cemeteries need to be regarded, especially African-American cemeteries."

"For the ground at West Lawn is hallowed."

CLICK ON THE ALBUM TITLE BELOW TO START THE WEST LAWN CEMETERY SLIDESHOW

2014 Langston West View Cemetery & Hankal Bldg - Video Maker