Behavior Cemetery is a historic

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

Sapelo Island Sapelo Island is a state-protected barrier island located in McIntosh County, Georgia. The island is accessible only by aircraft or boat; the primary ferry comes from the Sapelo Island Visitors Center in McIntosh County, Georgia, a seven-mil ...

outside

Hog Hammock, Georgia Hog Hammock is an African-American community on Sapelo Island, a barrier island of the U.S. state of Georgia. The community of Hog Hammock, also known as Hogg Hummock, includes homes, a general store, bar, public library, and other small business ...

. The cemetery is located at the south end of Sapelo Island, 1.25 miles west of Hog Hammock, about off of Airport Road. with

History

The

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

cemetery is believed to date to before the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

although the earliest marker is dated to the late 19th century. Originally the cemetery was associated with a former community named "Behavior" and of the people enslaved by

Thomas Spalding Thomas Spalding (March 25, 1774 – January 4, 1851) was a United States representative from Georgia. He was born in Frederica, Georgia, St. Simons Island, Glynn County, Georgia. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1795, but did not ...

. An example of African-American burial grounds, the cemetery's grave markers include short posts at either end of the graves with epitaphs on wooden boards nailed to the surrounding trees and personal items included with the deceased. More recent tombstones are cement, granite or metal. , the cemetery is still in use and the only cemetery associated with the African American community on Sapelo Island. The age of the cemetery is unknown, but there was damage recorded from the October 2, 1898 hurricane. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on August 22, 1996. In June 2010, professors and students from University of Tennessee at Chattanooga conducted a survey of the cemetery. Their work and excavations showed evidence of over 180 unmarked graves and at least two structures, one likely a cabin for the enslaved people.

References

External links

* {{Find a Grave cemetery
Behavior Cemetery
Vanishing Coastal Georgia
Burial List
List of burials found at Behavior Cemetery African-American history of Georgia (U.S. state) Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Geography of McIntosh County, Georgia National Register of Historic Places in McIntosh County, Georgia African-American cemeteries in Georgia (U.S. state) Sapelo Island

History

See also

References

External links