History

Detroit Memorial Park's 100 years of service to the community

Detroit Memorial Park was founded in 1925 by Charles C. Diggs, Sr., and Aaron C. Toodle as Michigan's first Black-owned cemetery. In October 1926, the first burial secured the land from reclamation. During the Great Depression, the park provided a community vegetable garden and transportation for Detroit's Black citizens. It became a historic site on May 31, 1976. Notable individuals like Elijah McCoy and Florence Ballard are interred there.