St. James Cemetery

Saint James Cemetery in Varina (Henrico County), Virginia, was founded in the 1870s by the Star of Benevolence Society, an African American benevolent society connected with the historic lodge and schoolhouse on the property at 1973 St. James Road. This African American cemetery, still active today, stands as a repository of family and community histories and personal stories told through grave markers and archival records documenting details of the lives of the people interred there.

Members of the Star of Benevolence Society contacted the interdisciplinary UR/VCU  Cemetery Collaboratory  in 2022 after local news coverage of the East End Cemetery mapping project and asked for the Collaboratory’s help in mapping the cemetery.  Dr. Stephanie Spera ’s Remote Sensing class flew a drone over the cemetery in February 2023 to lay the groundwork for mapping using ArcGIS Field Maps with the drone imagery as a basemap. In Fall 2023, UR’s GIS Operations Manager,  Beth Zizzamia , assisted  Dr. Elizabeth Baughan ’s archaeology class in mapping and recording all visible gravemarkers and grave locations at the cemetery. The class also documented the types of gravemarkers and their conditions and conducted archival research in order to discover evidence for other individuals buried at the cemetery for whom no markers are preserved. 

With the help of the University of Richmond archaeology students, a digital map of the cemetery has been created in order to share the geographic locations of burials within St. James Cemetery. This map includes a high resolution aerial drone image of the cemetery, which allows for an accurate reading of the land to better plot out the burial areas. Each point represents a grave marker and includes images and information about who is buried there. Click the link below to explore the St. James Cemetery web map.

Community members, students, university faculty, and volunteers come together to revitalize the cemetery by removing overgrowth and uncovering displaced grave markers. St. James has a strong support system of community members committed to the ongoing restoration of the cemetery.

St. James cemetery has a collection of unique handmade concrete markers that likely represent the work of one or two unsung local artisans. Because of their material and age, these markers are susceptible to cracking and breakage when their interior metal supports are exposed. Documenting and preserving these gravestones are of utmost importance to protect local cultural heritage.