Cobb County has submitted a grant application to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund for assistance with four of Cobb’s historic African American cemeteries.

In 2023, the Cobb County Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) worked to identify and research historic African American Cemeteries in Cobb. The four African American cemeteries included in the grant proposal are Sardis Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, Old Ebenezer Cemetery, Noonday Extension Cemetery, and Little Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery.

Bev Jackson, Chairwoman of Cobb’s Historic Preservation Commission, says the county’s African American cemeteries' needs are immediate and long-term. They need assistance with maintenance, boundary delineation, identification of unknown graves, recognition, etc.

“We see this as just the beginning of our plan to address the needs and concerns of our historic African American cemeteries in Cobb,” Jackson said. 

The grant would pay for a consultant to perform archaeology surveys for the four cemeteries and to write a maintenance manual for African American cemeteries in Cobb. The surveys will help define the cemetery boundaries and identify locations of unknown graves. The maintenance manual will be provided to property owners, cemetery preservation specialists, and volunteers to provide specific directions on restoring and maintaining our historic African American cemeteries properly.

Volunteers are always needed to assist with the maintenance of Cobb County Cemeteries; to get involved to help restore and maintain our historic African American cemeteries, contact the Cobb County Historic Preservation Planner, Mandy Elliott, at mandy.elliott@cobbcounty.org.