Category Archives: Vernacular Headstones

-Georgia, Black History, Cemeteries, Churches and Temples, Vernacular Headstones

Documenting O’Neal AME Church Cemetery in Hampton, Georgia

August 22, 2026 Cynthia L Jennings 3 Comments

In 2024, I photographed the ruins of the O’Neal AME Church. At the time, I had not realized the cemetery was across the street, hidden in the woods. Recently, the cemetery has been under threat because a massive data center is being built around it. My friend and I decided to visit the cemetery. We were both interested in seeing how close the clearing for the data center was to the property lines and wanting to document any remaining headstones.

We walked the boundary lines of the cemetery. First, the cemetery is completely fenced in, with an approximately 75-foot buffer.

One of the vernacular markers in the cemetery

The cemetery itself was abandoned long ago based on early headstone photos. There is a mixture of professionally engraved headstones, vernacular, Eldren Baileys, and at least two dozen fieldstones. All cemeteries are important, but this cemetery contains the remains of people who were likely enslaved based on birthdate. The last obituary I could locate is from 1967. According to FindAGrave, the last burial appears to be in 1967. From historic aerials, it appears the church’s roof collapsed sometime in the late 1950s.

Reuben (1810-1890) and his wife, Eliza, are documented in the census records for Henry County for 1870 and 1880.

The metal fence likely marks off a family plot.

Based on tax records, the ruins of the O’Neal AME Church will likely be demolished in the coming year, since the company “Hampton Technology Park,” out of Atlanta, owns the land being developed now and the land where the church is located. The address for Hampton Technology Park is 1776 Peachtree Street, which lists a few real estate companies as tenants, so further research would be needed to determine who owns the land.

The images below are from Qpublic.

The cemetery should be restored. The people buried here help tell the story of Henry County. Hopefully, there will be enough interest to save it.

The penny indicates someone visited this headstone and left it as a memento.

In Black cemetery traditions, a pitcher can represent a connection or passage to the afterlife. Until people started stealing the items, these grave goods could be found frequently in Geechee Gullah cemeteries.

-Georgia, Black History, Cemeteries, Churches and Temples, Vernacular Headstones

Mountain Creek AME Church-Sumter County, Georgia

April 18, 2026 Cynthia L Jennings Leave a comment

Mountain Creek AME Church is located in Sunter County. The main church building was constructed in 1890. The fellowship hall was added in 1990.

This building was on the property. The abandoned piano makes me wonder if it was the old Sunday school. It could have been an old school. I don’t believe it is an old church because tar paper isn’t typically used on churches.

-Kentucky, Black History, Cemeteries, National Register of Historic Places, Vernacular Headstones

African Cemetery Number 2 of Lexington, Kentucky

November 19, 2025 Cynthia L Jennings Leave a comment

African Cemetery No. 2 is the earliest recorded cemetery organized, owned, and managed by the Black citizens of Lexington, Kentucky. Purchased in 1869 by the Union Benevolent Society No. 2 and chartered in 1870, it served as a burial ground until 1976.

The cemetery’s notable residents include Oliver Lewis, the first Kentucky Derby winner, and Isaac Burns Murphy, a three-time Derby-winning jockey. It also contains graves of over 150 U.S. Colored Troops, including soldiers from the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Regiments.

After decades of neglect, the site was declared abandoned in 1973. Plans for development ended when surveys revealed over 5,000 burials. In 1979, Rev. Horace Henry Greene lead the restoration efforts of the cemetery and founded the non-profit to manage the cemetery. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

Keys was a noted groomer and worked for the Idlehour Stock Farm.

-Kentucky, Black History, Cemeteries, Vernacular Headstones

Greenwood Cemetery of Louisville, Kentucky

November 9, 2025 Cynthia L Jennings Leave a comment

Greenwood Cemetery was founded in 1903 in Louisville, Kentucky. It is a historic Black cemetery that fell into disrepair after neglectful owners stopped caring for it. In recent years, the local chapter of the National Association for Black Veterans (NABVETS) has volunteered its time to assist with upkeep. It’s estimated there are at least 800 veterans buried in the cemetery.

The NABVETS are there almost every Saturday helping maintain and improve the cemetery grounds.

If you would like to follow along to see the progress on the cemetery, you can find more info on their two Facebook pages. This one seems a bit more active.

-Alabama, Cemeteries, Churches and Temples, Vernacular Headstones

The Ruins of Harmony Hill Church and Cemetery of Chambers County, Alabama

May 31, 2025 Cynthia L Jennings Leave a comment

I learned about Harmony Hill Cemetery when an account I follow posted images of a ledger stone with marbles. Marbles are one of my favorite folk art finds on headstones, and I will document them whenever I can. I was in Chambers County looking for the William “Rock” Jackson grave markers and decided to find this cemetery.

The cemetery can be found on a dirt road west of Oak Bowery. The easiest path into cemetery lead me to what I believe are the remains of the Harmony Hill Baptist Church.

Research has not given me much information. According to FindAGrave, the earliest burial is 1891. The most recent obituary is from 1971, which matches the last burial in the cemetery. Jeffie Allison (1887-1981) is one of five members of the Allison family buried here.

One of the dozens of field stones in the cemetery.

I believe this to be an old grave marker.

This is the grave of Lucy Presley (1871-1927). Her headstone is a common handmade one that can be seen in the South. Her grave ledger is decorated with marbles.

These are the graves of brothers James and Luke Moody. They died within six days of each other in 1903. A records search doesn’t show why they died so close to each other.

If you know more about this church and cemetery, please let me know.

-Alabama, -Georgia, Cemeteries, Churches and Temples, Symbolism, Vernacular Headstones

The Gravemarkers of Stone Carver William “Rock” Jackson

May 29, 2025 Cynthia L Jennings 1 Comment

William Rufus “Rock” Jackson (1808-1892) was a gin operator, miller, and headstone carver who lived and worked in Chambers County, Alabama. Jackson became known for his carving and made many tombstones for his family and community members using local green schist or steatite. Also known as soapstone, steatite is mainly composed of talc, which makes it relatively soft.

Mount Hickory Cemetery outside of LaFayette, Alabama

Jackson’s markers, characterized by their distinctive green-blue coloring, can be found throughout eastern Alabama. Colloquially, the stone was also called “blue marble.” The headstones feature a variety of symbols with recognizable lettering. According to Cox (2010), who wrote their thesis on Jackson’s tombstones, the most common elements are hearts and fern branches, but there are dozens of designs in the over 400 markers they documented. Markers have been identified in four counties.

So far, I have documented the vernacular headstones in three cemeteries: Long Cane Baptist Church in Troup County, Georgia (top image), Mount Hickory Cemetery in Chambers County, and Concord Primitive Baptist Church in Randolph County. One thing I noticed is that not all headstones were oriented toward the east, so it made photographing the headstones a challenge. I will document more headstones during future visits to eastern Alabama.