District Hill Cemetery Master Plan

District Hill Cemetery in the town of Chickamauga, Georgia is the historic resting place for the community’s African American population. While many people recognize Chickamauga as the site of second deadliest Civil War battle, it was also home to numerous enslaved people and their descendants, many of whom are buried at District Hill.

To this day, the stories of formerly enslaved people and their descendants interred at District Hill go untold, forgotten by all but a handful of local residents, and the gravesites lie neglected and inaccessible. What little is known has been preserved by dedicated members of the African American community, but the cemetery faces long-term funding and maintenance challenges that further imperil this landscape.

In the fall of 2017, graduate students from the University of Georgia’s College of Environment and Design developed a plan to preserve and maintain the cemetery. The District Hill Cemetery Master Plan provides a tool that articulates the importance of District Hill and its people, restoring dignity to the known and unknown souls buried at this sacred site.