Green Hill Historic African-American Cemetery

On December 16, 1872 and recorded in the Office of the Clerk of the County Council of Berkeley County, West Virginia in Deed Book 69, at Page 337 (the "Burying Ground Deed"), Greenhill Cemetery Company of Martinsburg, West Virginia conveyed to Samuel Hopewell, William Fairfax, Daniel Thurston, Lewis Ford, William Ford, Clarence Johnson, Perry Aleman, Christopher Allinigswoth and James Johnson as Trustees for The Colored People of the Town of Martinsburg "a certain lot in said Green Hill Cemetery known as the Colored Peoples Burying Ground and now fenced off and used by them and is located on the Eastern side of said Green Hill Cemetery in the fork of the Shepherdstown Road" to have and to hold to the said trustees and their successors for "the burial of the colored people of Martinsburg." Unfortunately, the cemetery fell into disuse and became overgrown with trees and brush and eventually turned into a dumping ground for trash. In 2017 a group of volunteers began cleaning up the cemetery. This group of volunteers formed a 501(c)3 charitable organization to ensure that the cemetery would have ongoing care and improvements as needed. This organization is known as the Green Hill Historic African American Cemetery (GHHAAC) Inc. In 2023, the descendants of the original Trustees transferred their trusteeship to members of the GHHAAC Board to ensure that the cemetery received perpetual care. The site will now be officially known as the Green Hill Historical African American Cemetery.