Port Mayaca Cemetery
Port Mayaca Cemetery is a historic burial ground located in Martin County, Florida, best known as the site of a mass grave containing the remains of approximately 1,600 victims of the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane, one of the deadliest natural disasters in United States history. The cemetery serves as both a sacred resting place and a public memorial, drawing visitors, historians, and descendants who seek to honor those lost in the catastrophic storm that reshaped the landscape and communities surrounding Lake Okeechobee. A stone marker placed over the mass grave bears an inscription acknowledging the lives lost, making Port Mayaca Cemetery a focal point of remembrance for the broader Palm Beach and Treasure Coast regions.
Background and Location
Port Mayaca is a small unincorporated community situated along the eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee, near the border of Martin and Palm Beach counties in South Florida. The area sits in a region historically defined by agricultural labor, sugarcane cultivation, and the seasonal flooding patterns of Lake Okeechobee. The cemetery itself reflects the rural character of the surrounding area and predates many of the municipal expansions that transformed neighboring communities like West Palm Beach and Pahokee throughout the twentieth century.
The cemetery's location near the lake is historically significant. The communities most devastated by the 1928 hurricane were those clustered around Lake Okeechobee's southern rim, where the storm surge caused the earthen dike surrounding the lake to fail catastrophically. Floodwaters swept through agricultural settlements and labor camps, killing thousands of residents — many of them migrant workers and their families — in the hours following the storm's landfall. Port Mayaca Cemetery, positioned near this epicenter of destruction, became one of the primary sites where the dead were interred in the days and weeks following the disaster.
The 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane
The storm now referred to as the Okeechobee Hurricane struck in September 1928 and claimed at least 2,500 lives, placing it among the deadliest hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic basin.[1] The storm originated in the Caribbean and crossed Puerto Rico before making landfall on the southeastern coast of Florida. As it moved inland, the hurricane's sustained winds and accompanying storm surge destabilized the earthen dike that had been constructed along the southern edge of Lake Okeechobee.
When the dike failed, an enormous wall of water rushed outward into the surrounding lowlands. The communities of Belle Glade, South Bay, Pahokee, and numerous smaller agricultural settlements were inundated within hours. Because so many of the area's residents were seasonal laborers living in temporary housing, the death toll was extraordinarily high and the identification of victims was complicated by the absence of formal records.
The sheer scale of the disaster overwhelmed local authorities and relief organizations. Bodies were recovered over a period of weeks, with identification often impossible due to the conditions created by prolonged flooding and exposure. Given these circumstances, mass burials became a practical and logistical necessity in multiple locations across the affected region.
The Mass Grave and Stone Marker
At Port Mayaca Cemetery, a stone marker was placed over a mass grave where a reported 1,600 victims were interred.[2] The headstone inscription has been described as striking in its directness, reading in part: "To the 1,600 pioneers in this mass burial who gave their lives in the '28 hurricane so that..."[3] The inscription frames those buried within the context of sacrifice and remembrance, acknowledging their deaths as part of the broader history of the region's development.
The mass grave at Port Mayaca represents the largest single interment site associated with the 1928 disaster. The victims buried here include men, women, and children from a variety of backgrounds. Many were Black agricultural laborers who had migrated to the Okeechobee region seeking seasonal work during the harvest season. The racial dimensions of the disaster's aftermath have been the subject of historical scrutiny, as recovery and burial practices in 1928 were shaped by the segregationist norms of the era in the American South. Researchers and community advocates have long emphasized that the full human cost of the hurricane, particularly as experienced by Black communities, was inadequately documented and acknowledged for many decades following the storm.
The stone marker at Port Mayaca Cemetery has stood as the primary physical acknowledgment of the mass burial since its placement. Over time, the cemetery has become a gathering point for memorial events, historical education, and community commemoration.
Remembrance Ceremonies
Port Mayaca Cemetery is the site of recurring public remembrance ceremonies held in connection with the anniversary of the 1928 hurricane. These events draw community members, public officials, historians, and descendants of those affected by the storm. The ceremonies serve as occasions to publicly recognize the scale of the loss and to honor individuals whose deaths might otherwise remain unacknowledged in the historical record.[4]
The nearby city of Pahokee, which suffered significant losses during the 1928 storm, has been a particularly active participant in anniversary commemorations. Events held in Pahokee and at Port Mayaca Cemetery have included tributes to survivors, historical presentations, and formal memorial services. As the years have passed and the number of living survivors has dwindled, these ceremonies have taken on added weight as the direct human connection to the event becomes increasingly rare.
The remembrance activities held at Port Mayaca Cemetery are part of a broader effort across South Florida to preserve the memory of the 1928 hurricane and ensure that the lives lost — particularly those of marginalized communities — receive meaningful historical recognition. Local governments, cultural organizations, and historical societies in Palm Beach County and surrounding counties have contributed to this ongoing effort through various educational and commemorative programs.
Cemetery as an Active Burial Site
Beyond its historical significance as a mass grave site, Port Mayaca Cemetery has continued to function as an active cemetery serving the surrounding community. Individuals with ties to the Port Mayaca and broader Lake Okeechobee region have been interred at the cemetery across many decades, making it a layered site of both historical and contemporary community significance. Obituary records indicate that family members of longtime Florida residents have chosen Port Mayaca Cemetery as a burial place, reflecting ongoing ties to the area for multigenerational families.[5]
This dual character — as both a historic memorial site and an active burial ground — distinguishes Port Mayaca Cemetery from purely commemorative monuments. The continued use of the cemetery reinforces its role as a living part of the community's social and cultural fabric, rather than simply a preserved historical artifact.
Historical Significance and Legacy
The mass grave at Port Mayaca Cemetery represents among the most direct physical remnants of the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane and the human toll it exacted on the communities of South Florida. The cemetery's stone marker is a tangible link to an event that fundamentally altered the demographic, agricultural, and infrastructural development of the Lake Okeechobee region.
The disaster prompted major changes in flood control infrastructure across South Florida. In the years following the hurricane, the Herbert Hoover Dike — a substantially strengthened levee system — was constructed around Lake Okeechobee to prevent future catastrophic flooding. This engineering undertaking reshaped the hydrology of a vast region and had lasting effects on both human settlement patterns and the natural environment of the Everglades system.
From a cultural and historical standpoint, Port Mayaca Cemetery occupies a significant place in Florida's collective memory. The 1928 hurricane has been the subject of literary works, historical studies, and documentary films, and the cemetery itself has been referenced in discussions about how disasters expose and exacerbate existing social inequalities. The disproportionate impact of the storm on Black agricultural communities, and the inadequacy of early governmental and charitable responses to their losses, have become central themes in modern historical assessments of the event.
Efforts to document the names and identities of those buried in the mass grave have continued over the years, though the passage of time and the circumstances of the original interments have made complete documentation difficult. Advocacy groups and historians have pressed for expanded recognition and more thorough memorial acknowledgment of the individuals who lost their lives in the disaster.
Port Mayaca Cemetery thus stands at the intersection of natural disaster history, racial and social history, and the ongoing process by which communities construct and revise their understanding of the past. As a site located within driving distance of West Palm Beach and the broader Palm Beach metro area, the cemetery is accessible to residents and visitors who wish to engage directly with this chapter of South Florida's history.
Visiting Port Mayaca Cemetery
Port Mayaca Cemetery is located in an rural area along the eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee and is generally accessible to the public. Visitors traveling from West Palm Beach typically head west along U.S. Route 98 or similar routes connecting the coast with the lake region. The cemetery is a modest, quiet site, and those visiting for memorial or educational purposes are encouraged to approach it with appropriate respect for both its historical significance and its continued use as an active burial ground.
No formal visitor center or interpretive facility is associated with the cemetery, though the stone marker and mass grave site provide a direct and meaningful point of engagement with the history of the 1928 hurricane. Community organizations and local historical groups occasionally coordinate guided visits or educational programs connected to anniversary commemoration events.