“A grave is such a quiet place.”
Edna St. Vincent Milay
There
is the middle of Canova Drive in New Smyrna Beach, Florida is what
first appears to be a small lovely garden in the middle of the road
accented by four palm trees. A turtle crossing sign is posted on one
of the trees leading me to believe that this must be a quiet little
neighborhood. As we get closer, I see there is an old memorial of
some sort in the middle of the garden. That is when I see it. It is
a grave right in the middle of this road.
Engraved
on top of the grave is Charles Dummett’s name and that he was born
August 18, 1844 and died on April 23, 1860. He was only 16 when his
life came to a sad end. A cement dog that is curled up sleeping sits
on top of young Charles grave. The dog statue was added later by an
anonymous donor. The story of this grave and the boys death
remains somewhat of a mystery to this day.
Charles
was the son of Douglas D. Dummett, a landowner and Leandra “Anna”
Fernandez, who was an enslaved woman. It is said this poor lad may
have been killed in a hunting accident but no one knows for sure.
His father was so distraught by his sons death that he built a grave
where the young man's body was found.
It
wasn’t until the 1950’s when developers came in and built a road
around the grave. It is just one of many interesting sites to see in
New Smyrna Beach to check out while you are visiting the area.
Till
next time. Bye for now.
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