The city of Sugar Hill is seeking documents and information that will allow the city to reconstruct the layout of the historic Sugar Hill Historic Cemetery.
Documents and information that are being sought include deeds, surveys, maps, records and notes held by families pertaining to the cemetery.
“These cemetery documents benefit the city by allowing us to reconstruct the layout of the older part of the cemetery which can also confirm lot sales and any remaining unsold lots,” said Stephanie Isaacs, cemeterian/cemetery technician for the Sugar Hill Historic Cemetery. “Confirming the layout can work in tandem with the city’s master plan for the cemetery, which will add new areas for burial, layout of the driveways, fencing, columbarium, and an updated entrance that will enhance the appearance and reflect the character of the city.”
The cemetery was established in 1886, more than 50 years before the city of Sugar Hill was incorporated in 1939. The oldest known grave was for an infant who died in 1881. Most of the cemetery records were destroyed in fires — the first in the 1960s at the residence of a First Baptist Church of Sugar Hill Historic Cemetery committee member and the second at the former First Baptist Church building itself in 2001.
“The cemetery is important in historical value by revealing through its residents the historical fabric of the community,” Isaacs said. “Every person buried in the cemetery has a story, and the cemetery, through these stories, gives us snapshots in time that help us understand the city and community’s past and present.”
Isaacs said various sources have been researched, including the Gwinnett Clerk of Superior Court’s deed room, the First Baptist Church that is now Sugar Hill Church, the State of Georgia Historical Society, the Georgia Secretary of State, various funeral homes, aerial photography, past surveys and other documents. Unfortunately, Isaacs said, the city has not had much success.
Anyone with documents or information related to the Sugar Hill Historic Cemetery can contact Isaacs at 770-945-6716, ext. 1312, or sisaacs@cityofsugarhill.com.
