Tolomato Cemetery, St. Augustine

Tolomato Cemetery, also known as Cementerio de Tolomato, is a historic Catholic cemetery located on Cordova Street in St. Augustine. The site was once a village of Guale Indian converts to Christianity and the Franciscan friars who ministered to them, and was noted on a 1737 map of St. Augustine. The cemetery was also used for the inhabitants of the village, with a portion of the cemetery designated for former American black slaves who had converted to Catholicism.

During the British colonial period, the wooden Catholic church on the site was torn down for firewood, leaving only the coquina bell tower intact. However, when the Menorcans, a group of Catholic refugees, fled from the dismal conditions of New Smyrna and were granted refuge by the British governor, they petitioned to use the old mission and village of Tolomato for their burials. The governor granted permission, and the cemetery became the prime burial ground for the Menorcan colonists.

The cemetery continued to be used by the Menorcans' descendants and other Catholics, despite various changes in the regime of St. Augustine. Notable burials include the first Bishop of St. Augustine, Augustin Verot, and America's first black general, Jorge Biassou, who played a significant role in the Haitian Revolution and was later sent to St. Augustine as a Spanish general. His funeral was held at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, and he was buried in Tolomato Cemetery in an unmarked grave. Confederate soldiers, including members of the local militia unit Saint Augustine Blues, are also buried in the cemetery.

Although the cemetery was officially closed in 1884, it received two unauthorized burials, which resulted in fines for the families of the deceased. Today, Tolomato Cemetery is a place of pilgrimage for members of the Haitian-American Historical Society and many Haitian diplomats. The cemetery is also recognized as an important historical site, with a historic marker unveiled in 2011 to honor General Biassou. Gumercindo Antonio Pacetti, a Menorcan who served as the mayor of St. Augustine during the American Civil War, is also buried in Tolomato Cemetery.