07/17/2026
The O'Neal Cemetery near the raceway at Hampton is in danger of being disturbed by the development of the data center in the area. This cemetery is an old AME Church Cemetery that has people buried there who were born into slavery. Ms. Linda Dodgen knows much of the history of this cemetery. The CRG did a study of the cemetery over 20 years ago. There are many cemeteries like this across Henry County. The cemetery study done by Franklin Garrett and Wilbur Kurtz back in the 1940s for the Atlanta Historical Society found many Native American grave sites, African-American grave sites and many family cemeteries dot the landscape. Mrs. Vessie Thrasher Rainer also wrote a very detailed book on Henry County Cemeteries. Dr. Latimer also worked to put together a nice cemetery book later on that is a good piece of work. The CRG found long ago that when big money developments are involved the cemeteries suffered. Recently, laws have been passed to clear the way to save these old antiquated cemeteries in Georgia's counties. Hopefully, it will stop big development from destroying history.
