DC is known for respecting our past and honoring the history of the city. While we work hard to honor our buildings and monuments, there is one place in DC that has actually been forgotten. Mount Zion Cemetery is a forgotten cemetery that holds stories of the district’s past.

Mount Zion is located in DC at 27th and Q Street in Georgetown. It was founded in 1808 as The Methodist Cemetery. The cemetery was originally created to be a place to put to rest its congregants and their enslaved workers.

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It was leased and sold to to Mount Zion United Methodist Church, which is the oldest black congregation in DC and is a few blocks away.

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In the 1842, the Female Union Band Society, purchased the west side of the cemetery. The society was a benevolent society of free black women who pledged to assist one another in sickness and in death. Both cemeteries were abandoned in 1950 and today there is no dividing line between the two.

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The cemetery has fallen in to disrepair but there have been efforts to restore the cemetery. The cemetery holds great cultural and historical significance.

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The cemetery is a reminder of the contribution of African Americans to the development of Georgetown and the history of African American life in DC.

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It is believed that the cemetery was part of the Underground Railroad. There is a small structure where it is assumed that fleeing slaves hid before heading to Rock Creek and following the creek to the Potomac and eventually, Pennsylvania.

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It’s estimated that there are 500 to 1,500 people buried in the cemetery but the real numbers will remain a mystery since it’s suspected that many escaped slaves were buried there quickly and in the middle of the night.

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Today, if you visit the cemetery, you will find many toppled over headstones and overgrown weeds and brush. However, there is hope for the cemetery.

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There are plans to restore and preserve the cemetery. A new life for Mount Zion will tell an important part of DC’s history and commemorate some of our earliest residents.

Flickr/Elvert Barnes

If you love the creepier side of cities, there are seven creepy cemeteries in DC you should see!

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Flickr/Amaury Laporte

Flickr/Elvert Barnes

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