A Bit of Local History

With the sun shining brightly, I ventured out to do a little sightseeing right in my own backyard. This new neighborhood is loaded with Pre-Civil War history. Being somewhat of a history buff, I can now cross off my list The Founders Cemetery.

Driving north on Highway 9, just after crossing the Chattahoochee, the history of Roswell, Georgia begins to unfold. The founder, Roswell King, was originally from Windsor, Connecticut before staking his claim to this area. I find reading up on local history to be quite interesting. If you are interested at all, click on the link to Roswell King above.

Click on the photo to enlarge the photo for better reading. I happen to have old eyes and need everything and anything enlarged!

In the lower right portion of the photo, you see graves marked with a mere rock. It was in 1985 that these graves were found during a historic dig. More than likely, these were the unmarked graves of slaves buried with their then owners. Mr. Roswell King owned as many as 90 slaves at one time to build his mill and home.

Being born and raised in Chicago, I never quite fully understood how one person could own another person just because his skin was different. Seeing these grave sites confirmed to me that this, in fact, occurred for many years. We can thank President Abraham Lincoln for ending such a travesty.

This magnificent tree acts as an umbrella, shading the graves of the free and enslaved. In the after life, all men were free.