THOMASVILLE- In honor of Black History Month, Pebble Hill Plantation’s Curator, Lori Curtis, will present a special tour through the historic Workers’ Cemetery located at Pebble Hill. This tour is offered Thursday, February 22, from noon to 1:00 p.m.
The Workers’ Cemetery, also referred to as the “Staff” Cemetery, is the resting place for many individuals who lived and worked at Pebble Hill for generations. There are entire families buried in the cemetery and efforts to document and preserve the site are ongoing.
In 2013, Pebble Hill reached out to Thomas University and Dr. Christine Ambrose to document the site and to map the graves using GIS and GPS technology. In that study, TU students collected images and information about the grave markers with inscriptions of names, dates, and epitaphs. Those interested may view the results of this study by visiting pebblehill.com.
That project identified 94 named graves and approximately 100 marked graves which lacked names or dates. The oldest marked and named grave dates to 1896. In 2021, this project was updated with the help of Thomas University’s Geospatial Analysis Planning and Preservation Center with Pebble Hill Plantation intern Baz Ouzts. Ouzts’s work expanded on the 2013 research thanks to advances in mapping technology. Using geospatial mapping with a geographical information system (GIS), which allowed for more accurate locations of grave sites, Ouzts was able to diagram locations of marked and unmarked burial sites within the cemetery. GIS is a computer system for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying positions on Earth’s surface.
The February 22 tour of the cemetery and related presentation will include information regarding the documentation of the site and will highlight a few individuals who are distinguished in Pebble Hill’s history under the ownership of the Hanna family from 1896-1978. It was Kate Hanna Ireland Harvey who had the brick wall and wrought iron gates constructed to protect the fragile cemetery in the early 1900s.
Tickets for the Curator-led tour of the cemetery are available by visiting pebblehill.com. Tickets are $10 and space is limited. Participants may bring their lunch to enjoy on the Grounds at Pebble Hill following the tour and presentation. For more information, call 229-226-2344.