Pinewood Cemetery

Posted: 01.13.2020 | Updated: 05.14.2025

Located in the City of Coral Gables, right on Erwing Road south of Sunset Drive, Pinewood Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in Miami. This is where most of the pioneers that made Miami and established the Dade County are buried.

This was a rural cemetery, it was a small shady place under some trees that didn’t exactly conform to the norms of what a standard cemetery should have been. There were no undertakers, no hallowed ground, no well-kept document on how many were entered theirs.

The less than accurate and rather flimsy records they did keep a record that approximately 200 people are buried on the spot. Most of these records come from word of mouth and were later recorded by residents who heard it from a friend who heard it form another and well, you get the drift.

Who Haunts the Pinewood Cemetery?

The Pinewood Memorial Cemetery is the home of several different families. Being one of the oldest cemeteries in Miami, it has a reputation for emanating a dark aura.

While most of the graves are no longer standing, it is presumed that nearly 200-300 people are laid to rest here. But the most prominent soul that still haunts the cemetery is that of Dora Suggs. Dora was found savagely beaten, raped, and murdered in the Devil’s Den.

It is unclear if the man arrested for her murder was truly the culprit, as Dora’s spirit still lingers by her grave. Perhaps seeking justice and retribution for her untimely and heinous demise with her assailant roaming free.

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History of Pinewood Cemetery

Pinewood Cemetery wasn’t originally called Pinewood. Originally, it began as a small family burial plot called The Larkins Cemetery. The Larkins were the original settlers of South Miami. The pioneering, wagon-wheeled family and friends that decided to branch out into the state and make a living for themselves among the gators.

Over time, the cemetery expanded and changed its name from Larkins to Cocoplum. Eventually it became Pineywood, then finally Pinewood Cemetery. A stroll down the cemetery reads like a catalog filled with the who’s who of South Miami’s forefathers.

Among them are the burial sites of families like The Barrs, The Combs, The Munroes, The Perrys, The Plummers, The Walkers and dozens more.

The Abandonment and Restoration of Pinewood Cemetery

The last known burial in Pinewood took place in the middle of the 1940s. Then, for a period of its history, the place was deserted and abandoned. Vegetation took hold of the land and basically covered most of the graves. Wild animals started to burrow into the tombstones. Vandals desecrated the cemetery making off with markers and breaking headstones.

However, in 1983, a group of citizens – bonkers for history, genealogy and Floridian lore – spearheaded a campaign to not only protect the significant spot but to restore the cemetery to its former glory. With the help and backing of the City Of Coral Gables, they managed to create an advisory board and later drum up some funds for the project.

The place was finally given a new coat of paint and cleaned. Nonetheless, like the Miami Cemetery, the place has a rather spotty reputation of attracting the odd duck. The kind of odd duck who needs chicken innards to commune with their Gods.

“We’ve found all manner of weird religious artifacts in the cemetery. From drug parties. To even midnight burials – people coming inside and trying to bury their pets. And, more than once, we’ve stumbled onto headless chickens and animal sacrifices.”

The Murder Of Dora Suggs

Dora Suggs, 33 years-old, mother of two, was doing her chores and going about her life in December 1905. She left her farm, climbed on a mule-drawn wagon and started heading into town for groceries and supplies.

A couple of hours passed by. When her husband started to worry, a search party was created. They found the wagon a couple of miles from the family home. It took them more than 3 days of retracing Dora’s steps to figure out where she might have gone off to.

A small splinter group investigated a narrow and overgrown stretch of road known as The Devil’s Den. The place had a rather insidious reputation and few dared to enter it.

Dora’s body was found a couple of meters inside Devil’s Den. Brush had been used to cover her mangled remains. Her corpse had swelled up due to the Miami heat and animals were already tearing her apart. When the police were called in, they were horrified by what they discovered. Dora had been beaten and savagely raped. While she was struggling to get help, her attacker picked up a large rock and cracked her skull in.

The story of Dora’s murder made headlines. It became a national sensation and reached the startled masses as far away as Washington D.C. The nation was stunned and every law enforcer in the land started investigating Dora’s death. In March 1906, after an interrogation, a man named Edward “Cady” Brown confessed to the deed. He was found guilty and sentenced to death.

It is unclear to this day whether or not Cady was the culprit. Evidence suggested that the assailant wore a size 12 boot, while Cady’s boots were a size 10. It is suspected that Cady was persecuted because he was Black.

The Hauntings at Pinewood Cemetery

Dora, as one would expect considering her heinous demise, is one of the most pervasive ghosts in the area. Her figure has been seen waiting around her grave, either sitting on it or floating in the nearby soil. People who have seen her constantly claim that she emanates despair.

Dora continues to wander Pinewood Memorial Cemetery, maybe reliving her murder over and over again. Or maybe, just maybe, is looking for some justice.

However, Dora isn’t the only tragic soul laid to rest at Pinewood. Others include Lillian Grant Freeman who died after sustaining burns while cooking. As well as Delia Blythe Branam, an 18 year old buried with her infant, both of whom died during childbirth in 1908.

The Pinewood Cemetery is crawling with spirits – literally. Supposedly, some kind of rituals have been performed in the graveyard. These rituals allegedly included animal sacrifices.

Pinewood is a hotspot for paranormal activity with visitors experiencing all sorts unexplained phenomena. Some see a figure of a man who appears out of nowhere only to quickly vanish, others describe a strange feeling when within the cemetery. A mysterious white fog has also been reported.

Haunted Miami

Have you visited the Pinewood Cemetery? The Pinewood Cemetery offers tours of the grounds for you to pay your respects to the deceased. Should you visit at night, however, expect more than just still graves.

Book a ghost tour with Miami Ghosts to explore other Miami cemeteries and haunted places on the most haunted Miami ghost tour you’ll ever experience.

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Sources:

• https://www.southernspiritguide.org/pinewood-cemetery/
• https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-north-carolinian-dora-suggs-murder/1932497/
• https://www.coralgables.com/department/historical-resources-cultural-arts/pinewood-cemetery
• https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=83128
• https://coralgablesmagazine.com/murder-in-the-city-beautiful/
• https://www.storiesofthesupernatural.info/pinewoodcemetery.html
• https://www.hauntedrooms.com/florida/miami/haunted-places