About us

Clarkesville First United Methodist Church was located on the cemetery site from 1831-1881 when it was moved to Washington Street. This image shows its replacement on Washington Street.
The original chapel is described below:
An excerpt from the church history: The lovely church once stood amid the majestic oaks. The walls of the building were white, while the woodwork and old-fashioned benches were in plain drab coloring. A gallery ran along three sides of the church, with one aisle down the center to the pulpit. The two rows of windows gave light during the day and the building was lighted by candles at night which were borrowed from house to house.

The Old Clarkesville Cemetery is managed by the volunteer board of directors of Historic Clarkesville Cemetery Preservation, Inc., a Georgia nonprofit corporation.
The corporation is organized exclusively for charitable, scientific and educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The purpose of the corporation shall be to restore, maintain and promote the Old Clarkesville Cemetery for the enjoyment and benefit of the public.
Donations to HCCP are tax-deductible as allowed by law.

News

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History among the Hemlocks – A Spirited Stroll through the Old Clarkesville Cemetery

This fall, a live-action version of long-buried history is being resurrected at the Old Clarkesville Cemetery. This repeat event hosted by the Historic Clarkesville Cemetery Preservation, Inc. board of directors invites visitors into the historic cemetery to learn more about four individuals who sleep beneath the towering native trees. History among the Hemlocks: A Spirited …

Continue reading “History among the Hemlocks – A Spirited Stroll through the Old Clarkesville Cemetery”

Fundraising

To support the work of Historic Clarkesville Cemetery Preservation, Inc., a Georgia nonprofit corporation, consider donating to help restore and preserve this historic landmark.

Ways to support HCCP, Inc.

Mail a check:
HCCP, Inc., P.O. Box 21, Clarkesville, GA 30523

Paypal/Credit Card: www.paypal.com/paypalme/OCCfundraiser

Appreciated stock:
Carson Advisory/Raymond James Financial Services
Email Daniel.Mosseri@raymondjames.com
(706) 543-6578 | (800) 476-4699

Who’s Who

In an article published in the Tri-County Advertiser on Oct. 27, 1927, Mrs. J.T. Pittard recorded her observations after a stroll through the Old Clarkesville Cemetery. We invite you to join us as we build on Mrs. Pittard’s details to expand what we know about “Who’s Who” in the Old Clarkesville Cemetery.

Special thanks to retired English professor, genealogist and writer David L. Greene of White County for his research in locating the article and the family connection that Mrs. J.T. Pittard has to one of the early Clarkesville families.

According to Greene, Mrs. J.T. Pittard was Georgia Erwin McMillan, born on Sept. 26, 1870 in Clarkesville, daughter of Garnett McMillan and his wife, Julia Wales Erwin.
Georgia McMillan married, as his second wife, John Thomas Pittard on Dec. 23, 1902, in Oglethorpe County, Georgia.

She died on June 13, 1936 in Winterville, Georgia and is buried in Winterville Cemetery. Her husband, John Thomas Pittard, Sr., died on May 19, 1935 and is buried in the same cemetery. She seems to have had only two children, John Thomas Pittard, Jr., born and died in 1899 and Lois Catherine Pittard, born in 1908.

“…There are many more, both white and colored. I have written entirely from memory of and it has been thirty-one years since I have made Clarkesville my home, so this record is incomplete, but if it helps preserve the memory of the earlier days of Clarkesville, and is in any way influential in emphasizing the sacredness of the little God’s acre where sleep our early citizens, it will have accomplished its purposes. Perhaps another hand will take up the pen where I have laid it down.” – Mrs. J.T. Pittard