MACON, Ga. — The Peach State is full of history, and one Central Georgia group wants to unearth more of it.
Edwin Atkins leads the Friends of Red Hill Cemetery, a group of Central Georgia historians trying to restore hundreds of unmarked prison graves.
Almost all the graves belong to prisoners from the old Central State Prison, where Atkins' great-grandfather was the chaplain. He saw 144 executions, Atkins says, and buried each one of those prisoners with a Cherokee rose marking the spot.
Now, those roses provide clues to Atkins' restoration group. Diggers have found grave markers near some of the bushes.
"We're finding plates that are all broken up," Atkins said. "That's the challenge."
Atkins says there could be almost 2,000 people buried at the site.
"In this piece, it says 1,500. In the survey by the Southeast Archaeological Service, it's 650 to 700... and in another publication it said 2,000," Atkins said.
He and his team have discovered about 650 graves. Their mission is guided by cadaver dogs Felon, Talon and Parker, metal detectors and Cherokee rose bushes.
They want to document as many graves as they can, but another team member, Mary Esther Smith, says it's also about honoring people's lives.
"He was executed," Smith said, pointing to a permanent headstone. "I said all we can do now is just try to preserve their resting place."
The Friends of Red Hill Cemetery are out working to clear brush, tag potential gravesites and research nearly every weekend.
If you'd like to get involved, you can join their Facebook group.
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