CLARKESVILLE – A 189-year-old cemetery is getting renewed attention thanks to an Eagle Scout project by Joseph McGahee, 14, of Habersham County.
Last week, about two dozen people gathered at Old Clarkesville Cemetery for the unveiling of a project that has come to be known as “Slice of History”, a cutaway of a stump from a hemlock tree that reached the end of its life in the cemetery in 2017.
“Welcome to the Old Clarkesville Cemetery where, as we say, history never dies,” said Brooks Garcia, who coordinates botanical projects at the cemetery. “What’s important about this cemetery is these are the people that founded Clarkesville – businessmen and businesswomen like yourself who made it possible for us to be here today in this city. We owe it to these people to honor and respect their graves.”
The hemlock tree from which the stump portion was cut was between 158 and 159 years old when the tree reached the end of life in 2017, Garcia told those gathered.
“The cemetery was founded in 1831,” Garcia said. “There’s approximately 175 residents here. We’re not exactly sure because there are no records. We’re working on finding those graves and those people. This is a huge tourist draw, believe it or not. You can come by here almost any day and see people wandering through the cemetery looking at the headstones. We’ve got a lot to do about putting out brochures for this, improvements, fixing it up. We’ve done a great deal of work already. The city purchased it in 2016 and it’s managed by the Old Clarkesville Cemetery Board, it’s a friends group that’s headed by Mayor Barrie Aycock.”
McGahee will place year markers on the rings with significant dates, with the front containing Clarkesville history, and the dates in American history during that period marked on the back. A key will be located on each side.
An antique rose will be placed on top of the display.
“One more thing we plan to do is put some plants around it,” McGahee said. “After that, we’ll put some little date markers on the tree stump itself. Then on the side we’ll have a date key to be able to show what those dates mean.”
Garcia explained the importance of the trees found in the cemetery.
“It was a rural garden cemetery and was meant to be a heaven on earth – a Garden of Eden of sorts,” Garcia said. “So, it’s my job to restore it somewhat to what I think may have been the Victorian splendor that it is. Look at these magnificent trees here. We have recently discovered that a majority, if not all, of these trees are grave markers, so the project that Joseph has done is really important being a slice of history.”
Donations to the project included cedar shingles, 400 pounds of concrete, use of a generator, cutting of the stump itself, tongue oil to treat the stump, tractor and forklift work, and a chain that belonged to the late Brian McNair.
Buz Stone of Lakemont donated specialty wood, materials and his shop space, as well as his weekend time for about two months to help facilitate McGahee’s work.
McGahee, a member of Boy Scouts of America Troop 5 in Clarkesville, said the cemetery has become a special place to him since he learned about it when he worked on a previous badge.
“It started maybe more than a year ago with Brooks,” McGahee said. “I got to hear from Mr. Garcia then. I wanted to bring a little bit of attention to the cemetery and thank goodness for all the help we’ve had here doing it. Hopefully, I can get the dates and the paperwork finished here soon.”
Asked how gratifying it is to see his work come together, McGahee said, “It means a lot. It’s been three months of hard work and I’m so happy we had all the help we did. All of the cemetery is beautiful – the hemlocks – and this was just a slice of hemlock to show how old some of these giant trees are. I wanted to bring more awareness to the cemetery, so more people know about it and these beautiful hemlock trees.”
McGahee is a ninth grader at Tallulah Falls School.
Habersham Chamber of Commerce President Mary Beth Horton told those gathered she is glad to see the cemetery receive more attention.
“I continue to be amazed at the people in the community who breathe life into this old cemetery because it’s such an integral part of not just the history of Clarkesville but the history of Habersham County,” Horton said.
History event set Oct. 23-25
“History Among the Hemlocks”, featuring four stories about those buried in the cemetery, will be held Oct. 23-25. More details will be forthcoming.
For more information about Old Clarkesville Cemetery, visit www.oldclarkesvillecemetery.com.
