Civil War-era LaGrange cemetery being restored, unmarked graves of former slaves will be identified

TROUP COUNTY, Ga. — Restoration is underway at the Mulberry Street Cemetery in LaGrange.

Many former slaves are buried there.

Preservationists are hoping the public can help them find the names of more than 1,000 former slaves and their descendants who are laid to rest there.

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Kathy Tilley is the President of Visit LaGrange.

She said sometimes we can forget our history.

“Every grave was marked in the beginning. They were all marked. What I think it says is that we’re all in this together, right? It is all about all of us,” Tilley told Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen.

The Mulberry Street Cemetery dates back to 1863.

More than 300 Confederate soldiers were buried here during the Civil War and more than 1,000 former slaves and their descendants were laid to rest after.

“This is their resting place. It’s important to make sure that every story is told,” Mary Wilson Joseph with the state’s Historic Preservation Division said.

Only a few of the African American gravesites are still visible.

The markers disappeared with the passage of time, but the graves themselves have been found.

“We used ground penetrating radar, and every one of the graves in this field will be marked,” Tilley said.

It’s part of a nearly $3 million restoration project.

On Tuesday dozens attended a ceremony to get it underway and look at renderings of what is to come.

The cemetery may be best known as the final resting place of Horace King.

He was born into slavery and went on to become a renowned 19th-century covered bridge builder.

One of his bridges now sits behind his gravesite.

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Those working on the project say this place is an important part of American Southern history.

“I think it’s really important for us to realize that the unmarked graves and the Confederate soldiers are here together. It’s part of our shared history. We need to celebrate all of it,” Tilley said.

If you know of anyone who was buried in the Mulberry Street Cemetery, please contact Visit LaGrange at 706-668-5555.

The project should be finished early next summer.

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