Dear Friend and Supporter of the Old Clarkesville Cemetery,
Thank you for your steadfast support. This circa 1831 historic site is experiencing a revival as it retakes its rightful place in the history of Clarkesville and the broader scope of our regional and national history.
Over the past six years, the all-volunteer board of Historic Clarkesville Cemetery Preservation, Inc., has focused on bringing the Old Clarkesville Cemetery back from its neglected state – tumbled gravestones, fallen fences, overgrown trees, and bushes – to the splendor of the rural Victorian garden cemetery its legacy evokes.
Accomplishments to date include the following:
- Development of a website, social media accounts
- Installation of historically appropriate landscaping to recreate a rural garden cemetery
- Preservation of the native Hemlock trees to prevent Hemlock Wooly Adelgid infestation
- Installation of historically appropriate fencing on two sides of the site with four new arbor entrances on Morgan, Wayne, and Jefferson streets and along the original alleyway
- Installation of a Slice of History exhibit [Eagle Scout project]
- Restoration of War of 1812 Soldier Matthew Rhodes’ grave [Eagle Scout project]
- Discovery of 240+/- previously unmarked graves in the central part of the cemetery confirmed with ground penetrating radar
- Marking the 240 graves with iron crosses
- Acquisition of an adjacent parcel that includes 140 previously unmarked graves, confirmed by ground-penetrating radar
- Marking the additional 140 graves with flat river stones
- A new marker commemorating the cemetery and honoring the 140 unmarked graves during Clarkeville’s Bicentennial year
- Hosting events to raise funds and awareness, including the popular History among the Hemlocks storytelling event [2019, 2021, 2023], Gloaming Picnic and Art Auctions [2021, 2023], Easter events in partnership with First Presbyterian Church of Clarkesville and First United Methodist Church of Clarkesville, Habersham County Christmas parade [2020], Habersham History Harvest, local work days in the cemetery, and several donor events
- Taps Across America [2022]
- Veterans Day program [2023]
- Wreaths Across America site [2022 and 2023]
- Repair and restoration of approximately 50 graves with volunteer labor and contracting with White County-based Ammons Grave Restoration on the more complex projects
Because of your previous support via corporate or individual donations, you helped us realize the dream we had to restore and preserve this sacred space. One final major project on our work plan is restoring Frederick Eugene Durbec’s family plot.
Frederick Eugene Durbec was one of the most influential photographers of the American Civil War. He and his partner James Osborn captured images of shelled-out forts after the capture of Ft. Sumter and some of the first documentary photographs of enslaved people in the South. His images are documented in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Durbec served in the Confederate Army and, after the war, moved to Clarkesville and opened the Eureka Hotel. Durbec died here, as did two of his young children. They were buried in a low-country style brick and stucco tomb that, in the ensuing years, has collapsed upon itself. As a local citizen of note and someone who made his mark on the history of our country, it is essential to restore the Durbec resting place to its original state.
We have a $35,000 cost estimate in hand that has already garnered a significant amount of funding with the commitment of local supporters totaling $15,000. The board has applied for a matching grant of $10,000 through the Tomochichi Chapter of the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution. That leaves approximately $10,000 to achieve our goal. With your generous help, we can start 2024 with sufficient funds to complete all major restorations at the Old Clarkesville Cemetery.
Please consider a year-end contribution to our mission. As a 501c3, a donation to our organization is tax deductible.
Please let us know if you have any questions or want to see the cemetery; we would be delighted to offer you a tour.
Warm regards,
Historic Clarkesville Cemetery Preservation, Inc.
Board of Directors
Eddy Ariail, Barrie Aycock, Diane Brown, Polly Earle, Brooks Garcia, Cindy Grace, E. Lane Gresham, Susan Gwaltney, Don Nix, Carson Sprinkle, Kathy Walker
Ways to donate to HCCP, Inc.
Mail a check: P.O. Box 21, Clarkesville, GA 30523
Paypal/Credit Card: www.paypal.com/paypalme/OCCfundraiser
Appreciated stock: Carson Advisory/Raymond James Financial Services
Email Daniel.Mosseri@raymondjames.com or (706) 543-6578 | (800) 476-4699
Old Clarkesville Cemetery 