Only One Name Survived in This Forgotten Georgia Cemetery

In the Georgia woods, hidden away from the history books, we found a forgotten African American cemetery. There are more than 20 graves here, but most are marked only by rocks, fieldstones, or the visible indentions left in the ground. Only one grave had a readable headstone, and even that stone was broken, with the top of it buried beneath the dirt. That grave belonged to a young woman named Hattie Pless. This cemetery was likely first used as a burial ground for people who were enslaved, with their descendants continuing to bury loved ones here after emancipation. Like so many African American cemeteries across the rural South, much of its history was never written down, never placed in the books, and nearly lost to the woods. In this video, I document the cemetery, the unmarked graves, and the broken headstone of Hattie Pless. After carefully uncovering the buried top of her marker, her name could finally be read again. That is why this work matters. These places may be forgotten on paper, but they are not empty. They hold people, families, and stories that still deserve to be remembered. Preservation through documentation. That is why we do this work.