African Cemetery No. 2

African Cemetery No. 2 is the earliest recorded cemetery in Lexington to be organized, owned, and managed by African Americans. It was chartered in 1870 and burials continued until 1976. The people there were important leaders in Lexington and include the first winner of the Kentucky Derby (Oliver Lewis) along with more than 180 other individuals associated with the Equine Industry and 160 members of the USCT. Like many private cemeteries, African Cemetery No. 2 was unendowed and declared abandoned in 1973. The eight acre site was nearly used for development (as was an adjacent auxiliary cemetery) until community activism persuaded city government to retain the property as a memorial park. Since that time the governing board has worked to promote the historical significance of the cemetery (it is on the National Register of Historic Places) and expand its mission to include service as an outdoor laboratory for urban afforestation and training for tree stewardship and as recreational space for an underserved community. It is the only arboretum in Lexington found in a primarily urban and industrial location.

They are attempting to create a 'managed' natural environment in an urban setting by focusing on self-sustaining native plants that highlight the cemetery's historic significance. Their focus is establishing representatives of all native tree species in Kentucky, and they currently have 90-of-120 species. Included in that count are almost all of the native oak species in Kentucky, which are regarded as a keystone tree species for ecological diversity, pollinators and wildlif