Roseland Cemetery

Roseland African American Cemetery

Roseland Cemetery off Monroe Road was the burial place for former slaves and freed African Americans from Matthews and beyond, located on property owned by the Renfrow family. It was originally known as Roseville Cemetery and was the primary burial ground for members of the Roseville AME Zion Church, located on Ames Street in Matthews.

Founded in the late 19th century, this church remained active until 1928. Members of the Roseville congregation maintained the cemetery, opening it for the African American community of Matthews. The first known burial was in 1916. Accepting burials ended in 1957 with an estimated 75 graves in the cemetery. Over time, the name Roseville changed to Roseland.

In 2012 it was placed on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Properties List as a local historic landmark.

Roseland Cemetery recently underwent preservation efforts. As a means of supplementing this work, the Matthews Heritage Museum would like to hear from those whose relatives are buried there.

If you have relatives buried in Roseland Cemetary, we would like to hear from you to add their names to our list. We would like to know the person’s full name, their birth and death dates, your name, your relationship to that person, and a phone number in case we have questions.

Please send information to us at info@matthewsheritagemuseum.org. You may also call 704-708-4996. Please help us document this important information.

Roseland Cemetery Burials