The Willow Lawn Cemetery is an African-American burial place just west of downtown Lake Wales. It…read moreis located next door to Washington Park across Highway 27, on Washington Avenue near Florida's Natural. The Lake Wales Cemetery was established in 1918 when the Lake Wales Land Company that founded the city donated 9.3 acres of land "on a pine knoll west of town" for a cemetery. Additional land was acquired in 1938, and the Lake Wales Cemetery on U.S. Highway 27 was expanded to its current 27.4 acres. Only whites could be buried there because of the segregation laws in place at the time which necessitated the creation of a place where the African-American community could bury their dead. According to a sign in the back of the Willow Lawn Cemetery, it looks like this place was used as an unofficial place of burial for the African-American community long before it became a recognized cemetery. The 10-acre Willow Lawn Cemetery on Washington Avenue was deeded to the City by a group of African-American community churches in 1941. The oldest part of the cemetery is a back field area where there is a single sign honoring all those buried unmarked in the field before 1941. It is likely that the graves here had wood markers that decomposed over time. Another section of the cemetery contains graves from the 20's and 30's but records were not kept until the 40's and 50's. The earliest people buried here would have come to the area to work in the turpentine industry. The hard work and exploitive practices of the turpentine industry and lumber industry were documented by Zora Neale Hurston in her famous work, Of Mule and Men. Later African-Americans found work in the railroad and citrus industries. In 1921 the Lake Wales Land Company subdivided a new plat just north of town on the other side of the railroad tracks for the African-American community known informally as "the Quarters." Many of the citrus packing houses were built in the surrounding areas which the community worked at. Interestingly this hallowed historic land is still used as a cemetery today. As such it is well maintained. The Willow Lawn Cemetery holds the history of the African-American pioneers who built Lake Wales. More can be leaned about the early settlers and history of the cemetery from the Lake Wales Historical Society.

This is a lovely old cemetery hidden deep in the heart of Mulberry, FL, south of Lakeland. Like…read moremany old cemeteries, it has its troubles and they are trying to fix them. When I went to find it, I was searching for a Prairie Cemetery or a Bone Valley Cemetery; people call it many things. When I arrived, I found a brand new sign with the name "Laurel Hill Cemetery" and "No Trespassing" signs everywhere. I even saw a sign stating there was a security camera. Since part of this cemetery bordered on a neighborhood, I decided not to take any chances and called the first phone number on the sign. I spoke to a pleasant lady at the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, who owns and cares for this particular cemetery. Yes, it WAS called Prairie Cemetery at one time and is now Laurel Hill Cemetery. I explained to her that I liked going to very old cemeteries and photographing headstones, etc., and I would like to have permission to walk about this cemetery. She was a bit hesitant but said yes. Fifteen minutes later, the caretaker showed up to further investigate me. He was very personable and actually had family buried there himself. He told me that because of the out of the way nature of the place, they had an issue with garbage dumping and other more unsavory things going on there. They are trying to keep control of the yard work there, but being Florida's wild and crazy flora and all, it's difficult to find volunteers these days to devote their time on things like this. This particular cemetery is quite gorgeous. It was, and perhaps still is, primarily African American. Records fluctuate on times of use, but the belief is this place has been used for burial for at least a hundred years, perhaps longer. Different areas appear to be clustered in different burial eras. The farthest away is the most new. I just took a quick look at that, mostly family groups. Many of the older headstones are handmade. Touching and quite lovely, some you can still see the handwriting and others are eroding away with time. (Sadly, the landscape has swallowed up an older section or two that needs to be pruned very soon or lost.) I have a feeling there are many more graves there than are marked. Many. It is so quiet out there. You'd never know you were next to a neighborhood, by a water treatment plant, a rail yard, a highway, etc. The breeze was blowing, the birds were singing, the butterflies were fluttering.

Such a disappointing experience for my family. We ordered a headstone for my dad on 11/28/21! We…read morewere told during the ordering process that it would take a year to receive the headstone due to Covid. The initial process in dealing with Davis Monument was good. They helped me get the order placed. But the communication after the initial order was placed (we paid for 1/2 the cost up front) has been none on their part. We expected the headstone to be completed December 27, 2022. We have not been contacted at all by Davis Monument. I have reached out to them several times since 12/27/21. Only to receive multiple reasons/excuses why the order has not been completed. This has caused a tremendous amount of pain and grief for my family, especially my mother. Saying goodbye to her husband of 52 years and then not getting closure with a proper headstone for his grave site for well over a year! This is not a good way for a company to handle the death of a loved one. The initial reason why we went with Davis Monument is because several people recommended them. I can't say that I would recommend them to anyone. It is now the middle of March 2023 and we are being told that it will take 2 more weeks for the headstone to be completed. This is completely unacceptable. Our next step is to contact the Better Business Bureau. Is hurts to have a company handling such a sensitive and emotional item so carelessly.

At the most difficult time of my life I found Davis Monuments in Lakeland, Fl…read more They were professional yet compassionate. Shortly after meeting with and placing my order Covid-19 happened. Though the job took longer to complete than promised it was totally out of their control. They finished my order as quickly as possible. The finished product is beautiful, just as I wanted. I would recommend Davis Monuments. B.Hodgman

My brother in law passed away a few weeks ago I had completed paperwork with them a few months…read moreprior , everything went smoothly Maria was very kind and caring the whole process when they arrived the gentleman just stood there with his arms folded and asked us if we wanted anymore time he was so respectful they treated us all with dignity and loving care for my brother in law he deserved the best and thats what we recieved. They helped me through any help I needed when we recieved him back it was the most beautiful urn I can't thank them enough for the loving support they gave to us all God Bless them our experience was perfect Thank you everyone for the most perfect ending to my brother in laws life

If you are looking for a funeral home, PLEASE read this before you choose Oak Ridge Funeral Care…read more The inept, inexperienced and lazy people there provided the absolute WORST EXPERIENCE for my father-in-law's death and for our family. My father-in-law UNEXPECTEDLY passed away right before Thanksgiving and the people at this funeral acted like it was the HUGEST inconvenience that they were required to provide assistance for our family. They treated any questions we had with annoyance and lack of care. For a business that is built around care and empathy, this funeral home has absolutely none!

Sometimes you are driving down the road and you see something so quirky you have to pull over…read more Things like a cemetery in the middle of a city park. When I see something like that I have to know more so here is the story of how graves came to be in Inman Park, Winter Haven. In the park is a fenced in area with a large monument flanked by the graves of Dr. Fredrick Inman (1840-1910) a former Civil War surgeon, his daughter Lillian Inman, his wife Florence and her sister Mary. The section of Winter Haven named Florence Villa takes it's name from Florence Inman. Florence Villa and Winter Haven used to be two separate towns but now they are all Winter Haven. Prior to Dr. Inman purchasing the land, it was owned by Florence's family. The couple was originally from Akron, Ohio and came to Florida in 1882 to visit the 695 acre family property in what is now present day Winter Haven. In 1887 they decided to make Florida their home on the advice of Florence's doctor who recommended a warmer climate for health. At first they camped before building their 10 room home on the shores of Lake Spring. Eventually they expanded the house to 42 rooms to accommodate all of their friends who wanted to visit. To entertain them Dr. Inman built a golf course and gave boat tours between the lakes. A train station was added to the property to make it easier to reach the house. After an economic downturn sparked by a citrus freeze the couple called the home Villa Florence and opened it to paying guests as a 49 room full time hotel until 1906. Dr. Fredrick Inman was one of the founders of the Quaker Oats Company. He also grew many different crops in the area. He planted the first citrus groves on 100 acres making him very wealthy with the sale of orange juice. He was called the father of the citrus and this area was at one time the citrus capitol of the world. In 1909 he formed the Florida Citrus Exchange. Dr. Inman was inducted into the Citrus Hall of Fame in 1962. Besides the graves there are some more typical amenities you would expect to find in a park. There is a climbing wall, paved exercise paths, a picnic pavilion, and outdoor exercise equipment. Also in the park are old oak trees. Next door to the park is the Inman Baptist Church. The not so great in the park is the belongings of homeless people shoved into different areas. Even with the homeless presence you could still safely exercise and picnic. You could easily drive by the park and never think twice about the large obelisk marking the cemetery. I am so glad i stopped to learn about the Inman's and their role as pioneers in the area. While certain areas of the park could use a clean up it is nice to see the grave site respectfully maintained.

These people were very kind and patient. I have to type 85…read morecharacters but have nothing else to say.

They were compassionate and caring during a very difficult loss for our family. The makeup artist…read moredid a wonderful job.

The care and support from Nicole is unlike any experience I've ever been met with! She was…read moreabsolutely amazing and so supportive during this very difficult time. Her kindness and compassion will be something I will never forget. Thank you Nicole for all your understanding. The other staff at Oak Ridge Funeral Care was very kind and gracious as well and embraced my situation with complete understanding. Nancy Harris-Hart

The Location is the WinterHaven Location. This Location I used 2 times and They were Wonderful…read moreespecially The Director Nicole, she was very professional and sincere and extremely helpful. I give them 10 ! Thank you Nicole!!!

They provided exactly what we wanted at a price we could afford. They were very easy to deal with…read moreand also delivered the ashes and death certificates to our home which we greatly appreciated. I would highly recommend this business to anyone looking for a very simple cremation.