Heartbreaking

Those of you who know me or know me through my writings are aware of my interest  in cemeteries.  I don't expect most people to share this  interest, which I  am aware may  seem to some as ranging somewhere between eccentric and morbid.

I have a backlog of hundreds of photos of old cemeteries on all ends of the spectrum, from well maintained to hidden and neglected.  Recently I started asking friends and relatives who have lived during different time periods in various locations in and around Atlanta to let me know of  cemeteries of which I might not be aware.  I was particularly interested in hidden or neglected cemeteries.

Johnny O'Neal, a friend who had grown up in East Atlanta and the suburbs to the east of that neighborhood told me of a small cemetery near I-20 east which he describes as having been in a state of extreme neglect even in the 1960s.

The area he described has been in severe economic decline for decades, and the 1950s and 60s commerical sprawl in the vicinity is a ghost town of boarded up convenience stores and empty chain grocery stores.

I searched for it, and had nearly given up, when I decided to give it one last try and walk behind one of the boarded up convenience stores.  I found five visible graves.  Click here to see the photos.  I've included a shot of the abandoned convenience store.  There are probably quite a few more graves under the years of overgrowth.  Given the small size of the cemetery I suspect that it was a family graveyard attached to a farmhouse.  I'm going to make an attempt to research it, but the origin of the cemetery may be hard to determine.  At minimum I'll go back with a rake, and try to brush back the overgrowth to determine the years of the first and last marked graves.

A quote is attributed to Benjamin Franklin to the effect that you can tell the character of a people by the state of their cemeteries.  By that criterion the verdict on us will be mixed at best.

Comments

[Shirley]

Larry, this is so heartbreaking, but by the looks of the flowers left , someone has at one time taken time to visit the.. I can't recognize the location ...
Is Johnny O'Neal kin to a Roy or Mabel O' Neal , they were friends of my parents and I babysat for them... they lived in the area where you are talking about.

[Larry Felton Johnson]

I'll find out if Johnny is related to the people you mention, Shirley.

[DecaturGuy]

Interesing that it looks as if flowers has been left behind at these graves.

[Larry Felton Johnson]

Yes, there were baskets of artificial flowers which looked like they were probably placed there a few months earlier. In many of the cemeteries I visit, even the overgrown and hidden ones, these baskets will be periodically placed. I don't know if it's family members or done as an anonymous gesture
of respect.

[Brad]

I actually share your interest in old / family cemetaries as well. Often I find myself stopping at to view gravestones whenever I'm driving around - most often in the country. But there are a few old cemetaries that are still left behind in Atlanta.

I used to live in Vinings - and on Paces Ferry Rd - across the street from a little strip center & a gas station is a large office park. In a ravine between the road & office building, almost hidden is a large sizable cemetary - including numerous unmarked old graves. At times it seems someone (the office park, other people interested) have cleaned up the area - but I've been there when weeds were covering over much of the stones. It is odd to see so many abandoned stones admist a busy road & an office building.

If you're ever in that area it might be worth a gander. Otherwise on the top of the hill (Mt Wilkinson I think) that is above Vinings, there is the Paces (or Powers) family cemetary, interesting little spot.

[Larry Felton Johnson]

Brad,

I'll check those out when I start wandering west. One day I'd like to take a copy of Garrett's transcriptions of cemetery markers, and visit each of the cemeteries he worked. I beleive he covered a thirty mile radius from Five Points. Both the Pace and Powers family probably had cemeteries which would have been intact in the early thirties, so the cemetery you mention was probably on his list.

You should check out Sylvester Cemetery at some point. It's just east of East Atlanta

[susan]

I notice old graveyards, too. There is one I pass periodically near Bankhead Courts and I-285. I haven't stopped to nose around it, so I'm not sure how old it is.

[jolomo]

It wasn't clear to me exactly where this cemetary is. I don't recognize the convenience store, is that north or south of I-20? What street is it on?

[Larry Felton Johnson]

Hi, jolomo. I-20's southeastward dip confuses me in terms of direction, but it's to the north. It's on Columbia Woods Drive. When you make the turn as if you're going to Columbia School it's immediately on the right. The graves are to the side and rear of the convenience store.

[jolomo]

Ahhhh, thanks. That's *really* far east Atlanta! I'll have to check it out some time (another excuse to stop at U-Joint on the way)