A decade-long effort to preserve and honor an important piece of African American history in Walker County is nearing completion, with a formal dedication ceremony now scheduled for next month.

District Hill Cemetery, located off Cove Road near Chickamauga, was established in 1898 and serves as the final resting place for generations of African Americans who helped build and shape the Chickamauga community. Historians have now confirmed the identities of 170 people buried at the cemetery.

For many years, numerous graves at District Hill were unmarked. Preservation efforts began gaining momentum about a decade ago. In 2015, ground-penetrating radar was used to locate gravesites throughout the cemetery. Two years later, University of Georgia students developed a master plan for the property. In 2021, volunteers cleaned the cemetery and local Boy Scouts placed markers at burial sites.

Research into those buried at District Hill was initiated by Willie Haslerig and later continued in cooperation with Covenant College.

Among those buried there is Mark Thrash, who was born into slavery and later worked at the Chickamauga battlefield. According to Walker County, Thrash worked as a government employee and helped bury Union and Confederate soldiers following the Civil War. The cemetery is also the final resting place of veterans of the Spanish-American War, along with laborers, teachers, ministers and others who contributed to the development of Chickamauga.

Earlier preservation work found 125 unmarked graves at the cemetery through ground-penetrating radar. The project has received assistance over the years from several organizations, including the Georgia Civil War Commission, University of Georgia, Georgia Power, local volunteers and other groups.

The latest phase will provide a lasting memorial to those buried there.

The Walker County Historic Preservation Commission received a $75,000 grant from the Riverview Foundation to construct a memorial monument bearing the names of the people known to be buried at District Hill.

The new monument will be formally dedicated during a public ceremony on Saturday, October 24 at 11 AM.

The completion of the project will turn what was once a largely unmarked cemetery into a permanent historical and cultural site recognizing the African American residents whose lives and work were an important part of Chickamauga and Walker County history.