Gulf Breeze has unique burial sites
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News franklin@gulfbreezenews.com

Photo courtesy of Steve Milford with Gulf Breeze City Hall Dead Man's Island, Navy Cove and Grassy Point all once served as quarantine locations for people sick with yellow fever, and at least three people never made it off the island and were buried there. Two other historic cemeteries exist within south Santa Rosa County.

Santa Rosa County Commissioners are planning to develop a historical cemetery board in order to designate the county's antiquated burial sites as historical landmarks. The effort gained momentum after the Coon Hill Cemetery in Northern Santa Rosa County was vandalized in late December. County and city officials estimate the site sustained approximately $50,000 in damage.

"We would like to possibly see communities be able to get certain historical cemeteries within certain communities designated as a county historical cemetery and that would better prepare that community to go to the state and get it designated as a state historical cemetery, thereby creating additional grant dollars to come back into those communities," said Commissioner W.D. "Don" Salter.

Commissioner John Broxson of Gulf Breeze would like to see such a board manned by people with professional backgrounds in archaeology and would also like to see the county develop strict ordi- nances to protect historical gravesites. The commissioner indicated that the county is not interested in paying for the maintenance of the sites but educating people of their existence and preservation.

"One of my favorite epitaphs on a tombstone is "Gone, but not forgotten,"' Broxson said. "It is a fact that most of those folks in those cemeteries are forgotten and there are very few faithful people left that will go back and work on those cemeteries."

Out of the estimated 165 historic cemeteries in the county, at least two are located in Southern Santa Rosa County - Duncan Cemetery located on Fairpoint Drive, across the street from the First Baptist Church and Harper Cemetery located next to Billory Baptist Church off Highway 87 South.

The oldest gravestone at the Duncan location dates back to 1877 and the wooded parcel is still maintained by members of the Duncan family.

Robert Duncan, 72, the site's curator, said he's only had two minor incidents of vandalism in the past five years because he lives near the property and "keeps a close eye on it." Duncan said the cemetery contains approximately 40 graves sites including that of his great great grandmother, and great grandfather. Duncan claims his family members, who were farmers from Kentucky, were the first to inhabit the area and were given a 300-acre land grant by the federal government in 1888.

"They decided they couldn't grow crops in the sand here and took up sturgeon fishing instead," Duncan said.

Due to it's location inside city limits, the Duncan Cemetery would require a cooperative effort between the city and the county, according to Assistant City Manager David Szymanski. However, Duncan Cemetery isn't the only place within city limits to house the remains of Gulf Breeze's earliest inhabitants.

According to Szymanski, who is also a member of the Gulf Breeze Historical Society, Dead Man's Island, Navy Cove and Grassy Point all once served as quarantine locations for people sick with yellow fever. At least three people never made it off the island and were buried there.