Grave of Charles Dummett – New Smyrna Beach, Florida - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place

AO Edited

Grave of Charles Dummett

New Smyrna Beach, Florida

A local road runs around a memorial to a teenager who died in 1860. 

View all photos
The grave, with the dog statue, which has since been removed. kb4mto (Atlas Obscura User)
The grave, with the dog statue, which has since been removed. kb4mto (Atlas Obscura User)
The grave is surrounded by plants. kb4mto (Atlas Obscura User)
Easy to miss because of the fauna petegogan1 (Atlas Obscura User)
102
228
Top Places in New Smyrna Beach
Cruger-dePeyster Sugar Mill Ruins
Cruger-dePeyster Sugar Mill Ruins
New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Old Fort Park
New Smyrna Beach, Florida
DC-7 at Epic Flight Academy
New Smyrna Beach, Florida
 See All

On Canova Drive in New Smyrna Beach, a grave lies in the middle of the street. The memorial is dedicated to Charles Dummett, a teenager who died in 1860.

The son of Douglas D. Dummett, a landowner, and Leandra “Anna” Fernandez, an enslaved woman, Charles Dummett died when he was just 15 years old. While the exact cause of his death remains a mystery, most accounts attribute it to a hunting accident.

The elder Dummett was said to be so saddened by the loss of his son that he built the young man’s grave right where his body was found. It’s remained there ever since. In the 1950s, developers who were working in the area decided to build a road around the memorial instead of embarking on the long legal process of getting permission to move it.

According to a 2019 article in the Daytona Beach News Journal, an anonymous artist added a statue of a dog to the gravesite. 

death gravestones graves
Nearby
Bob Ross Art Workshop
0.92 miles
Old Fort Park
1.32 miles
DC-7 at Epic Flight Academy
2.61 miles
Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member.
Near This Place
Bob Ross Art Workshop
New Smyrna Beach, Florida

Bob Ross Art Workshop

In this small strip mall resides the largest collection of original art from the famed TV artist.
Old Fort Park
New Smyrna Beach, Florida

Old Fort Park

These mysterious ruins are hidden amid this sleepy coastal city.
The DC-7 basking in the sunset.
New Smyrna Beach, Florida

DC-7 at Epic Flight Academy

An aviation relic that made coast-to-coast travel possible.
Cruger-dePeyster Sugar Mill Ruins
New Smyrna Beach, Florida

Cruger-dePeyster Sugar Mill Ruins

Despite being made of a seashell mortar, the crumbling remains of this historic Florida mill are still standing.
Related Places
Warnford, England

Grave of George Lewis

This gravestone tells the tragic tale of its occupant's death.
Framingham, Massachusetts

Graves of John Cloyce & Abraham Rice

In 1777, two men were killed after being struck by lightning at the same time.
Thunderbolt, Georgia

Charles F. Mills Grave Bell

A 19th-century cemetery device to ensure that the prematurely buried would be "saved by the bell."
Flowers growing on a mass grave.
Saint Petersburg, Russia

Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery

This memorial complex contains several mass graves for victims of the Siege of Leningrad.
In partnership with KAYAK

Plan Your Trip

From Around the Web