Unmarked graves populate city

An estimated 100,000 unmarked graves nationwide belong to mental patients with 30,000 being in Milledgeville, causing the town to be dubbed “the city of lost graves,” according to the Today Show.
These 30,000 unknown graves already outnumber the current population of Milledgeville, and they are not the only ones to be found in the town.
Another cemetery of unknown souls lies at the old prison off of Highway 22. The 300 graves are only marked by license plates labeled with numbers.
Hugh Harrington is a cemetery preservationist. Along with authoring many books about local history, he spends his time discovering and taking care of lost graves as a part of Friends of Baldwin County Cemeteries, Inc.
According to the group’s website, there are 182 cemeteries in Baldwin County.
“A large number of people never bother to put a stone out either because they don’t care or can’t afford to or they mean to sometime later and never get around to it,” Harrington said, “so it’s a very common thing not to have a marked grave. Usually after a while, people everywhere forget who is buried there. There are entire cemeteries of people who’ve just been forgotten.”
Meredith McMahan, a junior environmental science major and Milledgeville resident, has seen some of the unmarked graves in the cemeteries.
“I know there are several (unmarked graves) because of the history of Milledgeville,” McMahan said, “between all the wars it’s been through and the different economic levels that live here. The old soldiers who no one knew they just buried in mass graves or just had small ceremonies for them but didn’t have the money for a headstone. There are several in Rose Hill and the main one, Memory Hill. They either are just marked with bricks around it – I’ve seen several of those – or a headstone you can’t even read.”
About 1,000 of the 7,000 graves in Memory Hill are unmarked, Harrington said.
For those interested in spending time in Memory Hill and seeing some of its well-known residents, the cemetery is open to the public. Brochures for walking tours of points of interest are made available in the cemetery’s gazebo.
“Just wander around in there. They’re about the best people in town, above and below,” said Harrington.
It is important to remember, however, that it is a final resting place and should be respected as such.
“(There are an) awful lot of cemeteries out there,” Harrington said. “Be aware of where they are and what they are.”

Posted by Courtney Murrah on Oct 22 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.