Sugar Hill Baptist Church Cemetery, now referred to as Historic Sugar Hill Cemetery, is rich with historical figures and unique stories. About midway through Section A, closest to the Community Center, is a block of stone. It stands about 2 to 3 feet high and has no markings. The stone is in front of two impressively carved obelisks
marking the graves of Sarah Ann Bennett and Richard Bennett. For passersby, even those that are familiar with Sugar Hill history, it might be a mystery. It is not a mystery though. The block is actually one of the cornerstones of the Sugar Hill School, which was established by community residents that wanted to provide local students the opportunity for an education in a part of Gwinnett County that was remote and rural in the early 1900s. The Sugar Hill School would evolve to become Sugar Hill Elementary School, Sugar Hill High School, and eventually combine into North Gwinnett High School. The story of the school is interesting in many ways, but especially because its history first began in the corner of a cemetery.
Historic Sugar Hill Cemetery is affiliated with the community’s first Baptist church, which was organized in 1886 by descendants of our area’s founding families. The property was donated and has expanded since its establishment because of generous benefactors that recognized the importance of community assets like a cemetery. A historical marker on West Broad Street in downtown Sugar Hill describes the founding of the church and the cemetery.
The Sugar Hill School was started in 1915, welcoming students as they started school in the fall season.
Unlike some of Sugar Hill’s other mysterious origins, the Sugar Hill School is well documented. Historical documents posted by the Gwinnett County School System about the history of Sugar Hill Elementary School describe that “the first term began in a two-room wood building which stood in the corner of the Sugar Hill Baptist Church Cemetery”. The school’s first principal was Fred Driskel from Forsyth County. He would sometimes cross the Chattahoochee River on his horse or in his buggy in order to make it over to the schoolhouse. Other principals in subsequent years were Roy Devore, Smith Tucker, Otis McNeal and Carl Buice. None of these early principals are buried in the cemetery, despite having led a school in it.
The historical documents go on to describe that the school owned an acre of land, water was supplied by a neighbor’s well, and that the building was poorly lighted and ventilated. The school had a value of $350. The 2018 value for the school would be around $9,000, which is not a lot in any decade. At the time, 68 enrolled students were taught by a staff of two consisting of the principal and one teacher. According to the historical documents, “The school was maintained by $1,100 per year from state county, and local district taxes”, or $27,000 in today’s value. The student count and school would continue to grow and grow over the years, but would continue to serve what was, for good amount of Sugar Hill’s history, a rural community populated by several generations of families. Carl Buice was perhaps the most notable principal, and he served 18 years as the head of the school. A relative of Carl’s, Sidney Buice, owned a school bus and he was paid 10 centers per student to take them back and forth from school.
It may seem unusual to build a school in a cemetery, but it is actually very practical. The Sugar Hill area was a rural community and land was as valuable as it is today, but the residents came together to collectively fund, build and maintain two important community assets that continue to have value: a cemetery and a school.
