Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery

Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery was founded in 1882 as a cemetery for African Americans in the 216th general militia district, Athens, Georgia area. Nine acres in size, it contains an estimated 3,500, mostly unmarked, graves. The Gospel Pilgrim Society founded the cemetery and was "a social and charitable burial insurance organization". The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. In 2008, the Georgia Historical Society, along with the East Athens Development Corporation, Inc., erected a Georgia Historical Marker at Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery. The marker is located at 4th Street, north of Evelyn C. Neely Drive in Athens. Gospel Pilgrim Society Social and charitable lodges became very popular during the period after the Civil War. By 1912, the African-American community had eight orders – including the Gospel Pilgrims – with a total of 29 lodges in Athens, Georgia. The membership of these lodges totaled about 2,500 people that year, "or about 75 percent of the adult black population of Athens". The origin of the name, "Gospel Pilgrim", is unknown. Cemetery In 1882, the Gospel Pilgrim Society purchased 8.25 acres from the estate of William P. Talmadge. He was a white blacksmith; his widow and executrix, Elizabeth Talmadge sold the property for $238.50. The deed lists the probably illiterate laborer, Green Bullock, as the president of the society at the time of the sale. In 1902, the society purchased an additional 0.75 acres from George P. Brightwell. Finally, in 1905, a 100'x60' parcel was transferred to neighboring Springfield Baptist Church to give the cemetery its current dimensions, bordering Fourth Street and what is now the Seaboard Airline Railway. A 2004 survey found the acreage to be 10.071 acres, slightly larger than given in the deeds. The earliest burials date from 1885, and most of those are from the family of Monroe B. Morton a successful contractor, property owner, newspaper publisher, and developer whose Morton Building in Athens included the Morton Theatre and offices for African American professionals. Other smaller cemeteries for African Americans were associated with churches throughout the county, but Gospel Pilgrim was "Athens' first major cemetery controlled by African Americans." Burials were performed there regularly until the 1960s, with the peak decade being the 1940s. The cemetery fell into disuse and disrepair, probably due to lack of funding; the last burial took place in 2003. Athens-Clarke County hired attorney Jim Warnes to do a title search on the property; he found no owner, and in 2002, the cemetery "was declared an abandoned property". Warnes did find a Georgia law "which allows local governments to use local funds to care for abandoned property without the local government assuming ownership or responsibility." Restoration efforts In 2007, Athens-Clarke County designated $350,170 for rehabilitation efforts. The restoration project was completed on October 13, 2008. In 2009, the project received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation and an Excellence in Rehabilitation Award from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. The University of Georgia's New Media Institute hoped to attract visitors to the site and set up a local phone number that visitors could dial to hear descriptions of the cemetery's history and commentary by Rev. Archibald Killian, a local expert on black history. Notable burials Monroe Bowers "Pink" Morton (1856–1919), who built the Morton Theatre Madison Davis (1833–1902), who, along with Alfred Richardson, was one of two black, former slave, state legislators from Clarke County during Reconstruction. It is worth noting that, "[r]umor has it that Richardson is buried" there, "[b]ut no marked grave has been found for him... Fellow legislator Madison Davis is buried in Gospel Pilgrim with a fine headstone." Anne Smith Derricotte (1883–1964), a local Athens teacher Juliette Derricotte (1897–1931), educator and Dean of Women, Fisk University Samuel F. Harris (1875–1935) – educator and principal of the Athens High & Industrial School from its opening in 1916 until his death Charles Hicks (1841–1916), US Army veteran from the 138th Regiment United States Colored Troops (Georgia), Company K. William A. Pledger (1852–1904), co-founder of the Athens Blade, a local African American newspaper Harriet Powers (1837–1910), former enslaved person, folk artist, quilt maker; grave rediscovered in 2005 Alfred Richardson (1837–1872), who was elected to the Georgia State House from Athens-Clarke County in 1868 Gallery See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Clarke County, Georgia Notes References "AthensHeritage Walks: Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery National Register District". Athens Convention & Visitors Bureau. Archived from the original on November 12, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014. Callahan, Ashley (2009). A Colorful Past: Decorative Arts of Georgia: the Fourth Henry D. Green Symposium of the Decorative Arts. Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia. p. 50. ISBN 9780915977727. "University of Georgia Pushes 'Stranger Technology' To Attract New Breed of Tourists". Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. 23 (12): 22. 2006. ISSN 0742-0277. "History". East Athens Development Corporation. Retrieved November 12, 2014. "Official page". Retrieved November 12, 2014. "Prominent African-Americans". Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery. Retrieved November 13, 2014. Hester, Albert L. (February 2004). Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery: An African-American Historic Site. Athens, GA: Green Berry Press. OCLC 262742754. Hester, Al (Fall 2004). "Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery: A Rich Resource in African-American History". Athens Historian. 9. Athens, GA: Athens Historical Society: 34–43. OCLC 36821172. Hester, Albert Lee (2010). Enduring Legacy: Clarke County Georgia's Ex-Slave Legislators Madison Davis and Alfred Richardson. Athens, GA: Green Berry Press. ISBN 9780967302782. Hester, Al (October 24, 2012). "Slaves Buried in Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery, Athens, Georgia". Al Hester's Blog. Retrieved November 12, 2014. "Pink Morton". The Morton Theatre. Athens-Clarke County's Leisure Services Department Arts Division. Retrieved November 13, 2014. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010. "National Register of Historic Places in Clarke County, Georgia". Retrieved November 12, 2014. Luce, W. Ray (Historic Preservation Division Director). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form". Retrieved November 14, 2014. Thurmond, Michael L. (October 2000). "The Black Church: Not By Faith Alone". Athens Historian. 5 (1). Athens, GA: Athens Historical Society: 37–47. OCLC 36821172. Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher (2011). "'A Quilt Unlike Any Other': Rediscovering the Work of Harriet Powers". In Elizabeth Anne Payne (ed.). Writing Women's History: A Tribute to Anne Firor Scott. UP of Mississippi. pp. 82–116. ISBN 9781617031748. Retrieved November 12, 2014. Weeks, Eve B., ed. (1999). Athens-Clarke County, Georgia Cemeteries. Athens, GA: Athens Historical Society. pp. 45–48. OCLC 40937597. "Project 24: Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery" Archived April 4, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Athens-Clarke County Unified Government. SPLOST Project 24. Retrieved 3 April 2017. External links Official website Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery at Find a Grave Athens Heritage Foundation Walking Tour of Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery with Al Hester (2012), 1 hour virtual guided tour Virtual walking tour of Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery c. 2020 eMaps Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery, University of Georgia, Athens Death Project