Piney Grove Cemetery is the last vestige of a historic Black community in Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia. It is now surrounded by condos and within earshot of the Georgia 400 Highway. It’s only accessible by a grassy path along the backside of the condos.

It is believed the community dates back to the 1820s. At one time, the Piney Grove Missionary Baptist Church stood at the top of the cemetery’s hill. A storm destroyed it in 1996.

These aerial photos show how the land was built around the church in the cemetery. The 1993 aerial photo shows how close Georgia 400 is to the church and the cemetery. By 2002, the condominiums come into view around the cemetery.

For the past several years, a dedicated group of volunteers has been trying to reclaim the cemetery from nature. Many of the volunteers have ancestors who once attended the church and have family members buried in the cemetery.