Melbourne Receives $50,000 Grant to Protect Line Street Cemetery and Honor Early African-American Settlers

Grant to Fund Preservation and Improvements at Historic Line Street Cemetery

WATCH: Established in 1901, Line Street Cemetery holds the remains of some of Melbourne’s earliest settlers, including William Wright Brothers and his wife Mary Silas. 

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA — A new grant will help preserve one of Melbourne’s most historically significant African-American cemeteries, ensuring that the legacy of the city’s early Black pioneers is remembered and respected for generations to come.

The City of Melbourne has been awarded $50,000 from the Florida Division of Historical Resources’ Abandoned African-American Cemeteries Grant Program to fund preservation and interpretive improvements at the Line Street Cemetery, located at 718 W.H. Jackson Street.

The funds will support the installation of a new fence encompassing recently identified graves, a concrete viewing area, and an interpretive sign that will share the cemetery’s story and its connection to the city’s founding families.

Community Input on Design

The City’s Historic and Architectural Review Board (HARB) will host a public workshop on November 19, following its regular meeting, to gather ideas for the design and content of the interpretive sign. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chamber, with the workshop expected to start around 6:45 p.m.

City officials encourage residents and history enthusiasts to participate in the discussion, helping shape how this vital part of Melbourne’s heritage will be represented to future visitors.

Unearthing History

Established in 1901, Line Street Cemetery holds the remains of some of Melbourne’s earliest settlers, including William Wright Brothers and his wife Mary Silas.

Brothers, along with Peter Wright and Balaam Allen, were formerly enslaved men who helped found the Crane Creek community in the mid-1880s—an area that became central to Melbourne’s early development.

For decades, however, the cemetery lay neglected and hidden under dense vegetation and debris. A Boy Scout troop helped clear the grounds in 1980, and in 1985, the land was officially deeded to the City of Melbourne for maintenance.

The site was listed as a historic resource in 2011, but renewed interest arose in 2021, when local citizens urged the City to survey the cemetery and nearby landmark structures.

A ground-penetrating radar (GPR) study, funded through a prior Abandoned African-American Cemeteries grant and completed in October 2024, revealed 44 burials in total—13 within the existing fence and 31 additional graves just beyond it, mainly to the north.

These discoveries prompted the City to plan new preservation efforts to enclose and commemorate the expanded burial area properly.

Preserving a Legacy

“The Line Street Cemetery represents a vital chapter in Melbourne’s history,” said city officials in a statement. “This project will help ensure the stories of our founding African-American residents are remembered with dignity and respect.”

In addition to physical improvements, the planned interpretive sign will serve as an educational resource, allowing visitors to learn about the lives of the individuals buried there and their contributions to Melbourne’s founding.

Residents can learn more about the cemetery’s history and the radar survey work by viewing the City’s 2024 video on the Line Street Cemetery project, or by attending the public workshop on November 19.

You can also view this 2024 video about Line Street Cemetery and the GPR survey work.

Similar Stories