Calvary Cemetery

History

In 1877, foreseeing that a larger cemetery than the original Calvary Cemetery (currently known as West Point Cemetery) would soon be needed for Norfolk’s growing black population, the Norfolk City Council, by ordinance, purchased 23 acres of property from Thomas Ballentine. The new Calvary Cemetery was established northeast of the city on January 9, 1877. The former Calvary cemetery (currently West Point Cemetery) was renamed Potter’s Field. Over the years, additional land was acquired and Calvary now covers more than 68 acres. Most of Norfolk African American society was interred at Calvary Cemetery from 1877 until the mid-1970s when City of Norfolk cemeteries were desegregated. These doctors, lawyers, attorneys, ministers, musicians, undertakers, postmen, educators, business and fraternal leaders and laborers contributed greatly to the Norfolk we know today.

Calvary’s pastoral setting is an ideal habitat for birds and other wild life that call the wetlands north of the cemetery home. There are over 40 different species of trees on the Calvary grounds and their beauty is enhanced in the spring and fall of the year.

Contact Information

1600 St. Julian Avenue Norfolk, Virginia 23504, Phone (757) 441-2654, Fax (757) 441-2226 (map)

Office Hours

Monday - Friday 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., Closed Sunday (Appointments available by request)

Cemetery Hours

Sunrise to Sunset

Aerial Photograph & Plot Information

Click here for an aerial view of Calvary Cemetery.

*USGenWeb Archives, a cooperative network of volunteers that provides genealogical information on the Internet, has partnered with the Bureau of Cemeteries to provide an interment catalogue of Calvary Cemetery. This catalogue is not complete. It is updated from Bureau records every six months. The Bureau is working to provide an official, accurate, searchable City interment database online. If you cannot locate an interment, please call (757) 441-2654 or e-mail bobette.nelson@norfolk.gov for more information. To access the catalog, click here.

Are you intereted in volunteering to help us collect genealogical information, restore and preserve Calvary cemetery? If so, please click here for more information.