The Haiti area of Rockville also became a focus for black families who worked in Washington, D.C., often for the Federal government. They resided in the city close to their places of employment, coming to Rockville for summers and weekends. Other Haiti residents lived on Martin's Lane year round.

Haiti Cemetery remained in the same ownership as the westernmost house on the north side of Martin's Lane. Burials slowed down considerably after 1917, when the Order of Galilean Fishermen purchased land in Lincoln Park for use as a cemetery.

U. Grant Smith owned the property for many years. The last resident of the house was Mrs. Frances "Lottie" Johnson Crutchfield. The Crutchfield house was razed in the early 1970s, but the family still maintains the cemetery.

Almost all of the individuals buried at Haiti Cemetery are related to one another. Many of the families now living on Martin's Lane are direct descendants of the free and enslaved people who first settled there in the 19'h century. The cemetery is still in use as a family burial ground.

The property owners are pursuing historic designation for Haiti Cemetery. With support from Peerless Rockville, the owners presented their case at a November 19 public hearing before the Mayor & Council.

Some notable people buried at Haiti Cemetery:

• GEORGE W. JOHNSON ("Mr. T, " restaurant proprietor)
• GEORGE MEADS (deputy sheriff and fire chiej)
• LEN MEADES (pianist)
• WILLIAM WOOD (founder of Rockville's modern Memorial Day Parade)

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