DEKALB COUNTY, GA — Volunteers are gathering today to restore the historic Thomasville Cemetery in South DeKalb, which has been neglected for more than a decade. The cleanup effort, organized by the Metro South Community Improvement District (CID), aims to preserve the burial site that holds significant historical value.

Emma Smith, a representative from Metro South CID, emphasizes the urgent need for restoration. “A lot of the grave sites are just kind of abandoned, and all the gravestones—some are crumbling, and some are hidden,” she says.

The cemetery, located on Fleetwood Drive, dates back to the 1800s, with its earliest known burial around 1850 and the last recorded burial in 1952. Many of the more than 400 individuals buried there were formerly enslaved people, whose families lacked the resources to afford traditional headstones. Instead, yucca plants were used to mark graves.

“The majority of people who were buried in Thomasville were enslaved, and so they didn’t have the money or the resources to get actual gravestones,” Smith explains.

The Metro South CID is inviting community members to take part in today’s cleanup effort, hoping to restore dignity to the historic cemetery and ensure that the stories of those buried there are not forgotten.

WSB’s Lisa Nicholas contributed to this story