Some of the oldest oaks shade these 52 acres of dismalness in the county of Hernando. The earliest marked grave was that of Jane Hope who died at 30 years old in 1845. The earliest unmarked grave was Charlotte Wynn Pyles Crum in 1842. I have even heard rumors of a possibility of even some older graves then that.

Back in the day it was named Chocochatee Cemetery and it was only 5 acres. When the city of Brooksville took over it in 1887 they expanded it to what it is today. The hope family was one of the first white families to settle in this area in the early 1830s. Nobody knows if this family buried anybody prior to Jane Hope afterall their would be no record of it.

Richard R. Crum settled to the area in 1842 it was part of the Armed Occupation Act. I talked about the act on our Maximo Prologue Page where if you offered to arm yourself against the Seminoles....grow so much crop...etc the army would grant you some land. Richard married Charlott Wynn Piles a widow that was previously married to Colonel Samuel R. Pyles in Savannah GA in 1809. 

Sadly in 1842 she was riding between Brooksville and Dade City when she was attacked by the Seminoles and killed.  You can learn more about the incident at http://fivay.org/hernando1.html keep in mind that alot of tribes inhabited the area as during this time the second Seminole War was growing. Dade is known for its battlefield and we did visit Dade Battlefield where a bloody massacre took place. Charlotte Wynn lived just a few hundred feet from where she is now buried today in the cemetery. This was the first actual Indian outrage that led to murder in the area.

Actually if you want deeper incite as to what happened to Charlotte Wynn. In 1942...Charlotte, her daughter Rebecca Harn, Granddaughter Mary Catherine Harn and Escort John Francis McDonnell were fired upon by a Seminole Party who was not aware that the war between the pioneers and Seminoles ended. You see the second Seminole war was from 1835 to 1842 back in the day the white people committed aggressive acts to remove the natives. Even though they did not know the war had ended it was obvious that this was a retaliation towards the white man in general. It did not matter if it was male or female the native Americans felt threatened by the white presences to the area. I do not blame the native Americans think about what the white man did to them raped there women, killed the weak, made Indians slaves, burnt down villages, tore up Indian middens, built on there land etc This death in 1842 would bring alot of attention to perhaps even more aggression towards the Seminoles. Charlotte did not escape the attack all others in the party did however.  Sad to say throughout history the white man has been hypocritical towards the Indians in FL killing them was okay but them killing us was treason so sad really. 

A year later Richard we elected as surveyor of Hernando County. He enlisted in the civil war in 1861 with the Hernando Wildcats third Florida infantry Co. C. He was discharged in 1861 by Col. Dilsworth. He remarried and had two children. The Crum family grew quite large and they are buried here today. Just as many other family plots have stories to tell as well much like this one.

As far as ghost goes well many claim its haunted people come out of here with ghost photos....EVP...some see apparitions...some people see a bloody female in the cemetery others hear cries and movement. Its just a place full of energy and history relevant to the area. With 200 years of burials almost and oak trees dating back a few centuries ago this truly makes one hell of a magnificent cemetery.

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Lord Rick-AngelOfThyNight