The City of Clarkesville’s historic charm makes the city what it is, but it takes the work of dedicated volunteers to preserve that history. This Saturday, volunteers from the community will join the Historic Clarkesville Cemetery Preservation Corporation to clean up the cemetery.
“The Old Clarkesville Cemetery, established in 1831 with the donation of a city lot by Col. James Brannon, a Methodist, is the final resting place of those individuals who founded this community,” says E. Lane Gresham, chair of Historic Clarkesville Cemetery Preservation Corporation. “All walks of life are represented therein – city leaders, formerly enslaved people, veterans of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War. It is also the site of the first formal worship space in the village of Clarkesville in 1831.”
Preserving this history of the cemetery is the mission of the corporation— but they can’t do it without their community.
She says community partners make a big impact on the cemetery’s preservation. The City of Clarkesville has helped the preservation group locate an astounding total of 237 unmarked graves with a ground-penetrating radar, which the group plans to mark with white crosses.
“Thanks to the support of the community and several key donors, we’ve completed two-thirds of the fencing around the cemetery and added native plants to enhance the rural garden cemetery feel,” Gresham said. “We’ve also cleaned and repaired many of the headstones.”
Local boy scouts have also contributed to the preservation of the cemetery with their Eagle Scout projects. Joseph McGahee’s “slice of history” Eagle Scout project displays a slice from a tree that grew in the Old Clarkesville Cemetery, as well as holds information about local and national history.
Gresham says that his brother, Mitchell McGahee, will work on his own Eagle Scout project at the cemetery in the coming week. He plans to restore the grave of Matthew Rhodes, a War of 1812 veteran.
The cleanup day will focus on brush and limb pick up, general landscaping and getting the cemetery ready for Holy Week. The cemetery will host both the Clarkesville First United Methodist Church’s Good Friday cross walk and the First Presbyterian Church of Clarkesville’s Easter sunrise service this year.
To get involved, email contact@
