Smyrna Restores Historically Black Cemetery, Gravesites Of Enslaved People

SMYRNA, GA — After spending years in disrepair and covered with overgrown vegetation and trees, Smyrna's Mt. Zion Cemetery has been restored — and the city will host a rededication ceremony to honor the historically Black cemetery on Sunday.

The rededication ceremony and a tour of the burial grounds will be held at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at 1514 Hawthorne Avenue, Smyrna. Mayor Derek Norton, Councilman Travis Lindley and others will give remarks.

Mt. Zion Cemetery — located near Rose Garden Hills and Davenport Town, two historically Black communities — is part of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, founded as a Smyrna congregation for Black people in 1877, according to city history.

No records exist that show when the church building or cemetery were constructed, but the congregation began in 1877.

Originally located at 1798 Hawthorne St., Mt. Zion Baptist Church moved to its existing location at 2642 Hawthorne Avenue in 1949. Three other congregations built churches on the original church location over the years, but left the upkeep of the cemetery up to the distanced Mt. Zion and the decedent's families.

Since money and resources were scarce for many of the people who made up the communities surrounding Mt. Zion, the cemetery fell into neglect. Then in 2007, the church building housing a Hispanic congregation was destroyed by a fire. Years passed before the property was put up for sale and bought by a developer.

The developer agreed to deed the portion of the land containing the cemetery to the city of Smyrna, and it took over the burial site in 2019, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The city spent roughly $100,000 to restore the grounds and headstones. Jennifer Eldredge, manager of the Smyrna History Museum, told the news outlet that at least 10 people buried there are believed to have been former enslaved people.

Overall, 177 marked and unmarked graves were confirmed due to ground penetrating radar (GPR), with about 40 believed to be infants and children.

Ashley Shares, director of preservation at Historic Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, was hired by the city to restore headstones. Eldredge told the AJC that the oldest confirmed date of death was 1903, and the latest was 1971.

For more information about Mt. Zion Cemetery and to view an interactive map of the cemetery, visit storymaps.arcgis.com.