CALHOUN, Ga. -- Members of the Gordon County Historic Preservation Committee are mapping graves so their stories aren't lost to future generations.
"Our cemeteries are like looking through a portal to the past," said committee member Ken Padgett.
Indian graves are typically marked with a pile of small rocks while slave graves have an upright field stone. In contrast, Victorian-era monuments for whites were some of the most elaborate and expressive, with symbols such as an upside-down torch depicting that "life has been snuffed out," he said.
Members of the historic committee started mapping cemeteries throughout the county in November using global positioning system devices to determine the latitude and longitude coordinates for each cemetery.
The project will help people trace genealogy and will also boost historic tourism. Committee members said the county has many unique and historic graves, including burial sites for Indians, slaves, Civil War soldiers and veterans of other wars including the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Mexican-American War.
Committee member Stanley Chambers said they were concerned because the county already has lost some cemeteries due to development.
"That's one reason we're doing this, is to try to keep that from happening in the future," he said.
Brian McClellan, director of Gordon County's Information Technology Department, said the data will be added as a layer on the county's Geographic Information System Web site, which can be accessed by the public.
"Information like that is helpful for zoning, for building and planning," he said. "When you're deciding you want to build a complex or a new house, you'd want to know if you're getting near a cemetery."
Committee members are using a cemetery book published by the county's historical society in the early 1980s as a guide and they're also researching cemeteries and churches on county tax records, said Mr. Padgett. They've found a lot of graves through tips from county residents, he said.
When the project started, they knew of about 145 cemeteries in the county and have so far found about 121, Mr. Padgett said. They expect to end up documenting more than 175, he said.
Mapping the cemeteries is just the beginning.
KNOW OF A CEMETERY IN GORDON COUNTY?* Contact Ken Padgett at 770-547-0027 or e-mail David Mitchell at jdavidmitchell@bellsouth.net.
Mr. Chambers said they're hoping to go back later and maintain gravesites that have suffered neglect over the years. He said they also plan to update existing cemetery records with more accurate information and directions.
Jimmy Phillips, president of Gordon County Chamber of Commerce, said a brochure or other information about historic cemeteries would come in handy for visitors.
"I know there's an interest," he said. "Especially from a historical standpoint."