The Cemetery Society

The Cemetery Society We're a nonprofit (501c3) dedicated to inspiring others to appreciate and support historic cemeteries.

08/10/2026

Postponed until next month
Showmens Rest at Woodlawn Cemetery
New date and time to come
WE NEED YOU!!
Save our history
Stop the development on histroic cemteries

08/09/2026

IT'S NOT TOO LATE!
Save Woodlawn Cemetery/Showmen's Rest from Development
Email: [email protected] - see pinned post for details

08/05/2026

Could the City of Tampa have saved them?

In 2022, the City protected its publicly owned cemeteries but excluded privately owned cemetery land, including Showmen’s Rest and the Martí-Colón parcel.

Did private ownership truly prevent the City from protecting these cemeteries?

A cemetery is still a cemetery, regardless of who owns it.

Now it is up to us to fight for the protection that should have been put in place then.

Public comment for Showmen’s Rest will be heard by the Tampa Planning Commission on Monday, August 10 at 5:30 p.m. Please speak up.

08/03/2026

August 10, 2026 PUBLIC COMMENT IS AT 530PM!!!
Public comment to deny land use change Showmen's Rest at Woodlawn Cemetery
Hillsborough Planning

UPDATE FOR MARTI-COLON DATE CHANGE!!!
September 17, 2026 9am
Staff findings
Marti-Colon Cemetery
Tampa City Council

08/02/2026

NEED PUBLIC COMMENT 08102026 5:30PM
Showmen's@Woodlawn Cemetery
601 E Kennedy 18th floor

08/02/2026

UPDATE MARTI-COLON
TPA City Council at City Hall
at 9am Thursday, Sept 17 2026

07/15/2026

MARTICOLON CEMETERY RESCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 - Please make plans to attend at 9am 09-17-2026 (Thursday)
TAMPA CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY HALL
315 E. Kennedy Blvd., 3rd Floor Tampa, FL 33602

File No. CM26-25522
Staff to present a written report on the cost and steps to purchase the property connected to the Martí-Colón Cemetery, additionally to look at a land swap. (Original motion initiated by Hurtak-Maniscalco on June 18, 2026)
Memorandum from Ted Fowler, Director of Parks & Recreation, requesting that said agenda item be continued to September 17, 2026. (To be R/F)

07/15/2026

Happy birthday, Tampa!!

Today, we celebrate the 139th birthday of our beloved Tampa.

On July 15, 1887, Tampa was officially organized as a city. But Tampa’s story did not begin with a charter or a date on a calendar.

It began with people.

People who worked the docks and railroads, rolled ci**rs, built homes, raised families, opened businesses, created communities and dreamed of a better future.

Tampa’s story lives in Ybor City, West Tampa, Central Avenue and in neighborhoods throughout our city. It lives in our traditions, our architecture, our family stories and in the sacred cemeteries where generations of Tampa’s people now rest.

At The Cemetery Society, we believe that celebrating our city also means remembering those who built it, including those whose names, graves and contributions have too often been forgotten.

Happy 139th birthday, Tampa.

May we continue to grow, while always protecting the people, places and stories that made us who we are.

There is no future without our past.

07/14/2026

Remember his name.

His name was Dave Hamilton.

According to the funeral home record, Dave’s age was listed as unknown.

The record lists his stated cause of death as drowning. His date of death was May 4, 1906, and his place of death was listed as “by the dam.”

His stated place of burial was Martí on May 4, 1906, with J.L. Reed listed as undertaker.

Even when the record gives us very little, it gives us his name.

Dave Hamilton lived.

Dave Hamilton died.

Dave Hamilton deserves to be remembered.

Because many graves connected to this cemetery were unmarked, lost, or never properly preserved, Dave Hamilton may rest somewhere within the broader Martí-Colón / Colón / West Tampa cemetery ground.

He should not be erased.

Remember his name.

Dave Hamilton.

Address

Tampa, FL
33603

Telephone

+18138637296

Website

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