Mount Zion and Female Union Band Society Cemeteries

Quiet and somber, Mount Zion and Female Union Band Society Cemetery is a resting place for enslaved and freed African Americans and their descendants. Rolling hills are thick with tree cover so it’s really shady in the afternoon. NOT a good place to bring your dog. There are a lot of unmarked graves in this cemetery. Out of respect for the deceased, I would leave this place in peace unless you’ve come to pay your respects.

Est. in 1808 in what was once called "Black Georgetown," MZ & FUBS is DC's oldest African American burial grounds, the final resting place of more than 6,000 free and enslaved Black Americans, a stop on the Underground Railroad (don't miss the old vault), a treasure-trove of unwhite-washed U.S. history and personal stories... a sacred space, worthy of reverence, restoration, and preservation.

Beautiful, sacred spot full of lots of history. I visited again this past week and there are groups working (slow but steadily) to repair and restore parts of the cemetary. They have added some benches, it's a nice quiet refuge to come visit.

Shortly after you enter Georgetown from the Q Street Bridge, behind several buildings are two cemeteries abandoned in the 1950s. Built in 1808, these cemeteries buried Georgetown's African American community (although the cemetery was open to all people). Oral history says it was even a stop on the Underground Railroad. Ignored since the 1950s, it's now a park with trails weaving through the fallen gravestones and into the woods leading to Rock Creek Park. As you walk the trails, find the brick hut. That is where they say people hid on the Underground Railroad. Walk along the gravestones and read people's names. You'll see dates over two hundred years old. There are benches nearby to sit and reflect.

Not in the best shape, but still beautiful and peaceful. There are a couple interesting sights in this small, neglected area that I'll let you discover yourself. Free street parking right by the old cemetery behind the apartment buildings. While you are there, walk down the hill, and take the Rock Creek Park Trail south to see the most beautiful bridge in DC from below... the Dumbarton/Q Street/Buffalo Bridge.