The graveyard, located just south of downtown, was perhaps best known as the final resting place for Horace King, a formerly enslaved man who found fame across the South as a politician, architect and bridge builder. King moved his family business to LaGrange and lived his last years there.
The property, which opened in 1863, was also recognized as a Confederate burial ground, holding the graves of 300 soldiers, representing combatants from each of the 11 official Confederate states.
But after it closed in the 1930s, the cemetery’s significance slowly began to fade. Over the decades, it was overlooked and largely forgotten. Children played on nearby fields, and few gave it a passing thought.
Then in 2015 researchers began using ground-penetrating radar to study the site. While they initially found several hundred burials, a later more comprehensive survey revealed the true scope: The property held 1,005 unmarked graves, many believed to be formerly enslaved African Americans.
“Once we once started to do our research on it, we said: Wow, we really have something very precious and interesting here,” said LaGrange city councilman Quay Boddie, who served on the cemetery’s advisory committee.
In 2020, city leaders began developing a plan to preserve the property and honor those buried there. Using nearly $3 million in grants and other financing, they began to transform the cemetery into a memorial and greenspace.
“We want to make sure we honor and pay homage to anybody who is laid to rest there,” Boddie said.
When the cemetery was rededicated in 2025, visitors found it welcoming – and moving. A serpentine boardwalk crosses over the field, passing by rediscovered graves, each now designated with a granite marker.
“The boardwalk allows people to stand in the middle of the cemetery and look out at the sea of markers out there,” said Kathy Tilley, president and CEO of Visit LaGrange,who played a key role in the property’s revitalization.
But some secrets remain. Researchers have searched in vain to learn who was buried there. City leaders have called on community members to share any information they might have, perhaps stories heard in childhood or burials recorded in family Bibles. But so far, they haven’t been able to identify any of the gravesites.
Still, there’s plenty for visitors to learn. A new open-air pavilion has information panels detailing the site’s history, And then there’s the covered bridge.
The span, designed by King’s son George, has been relocated to the cemetery. The bridge, which uses King’s distinctive lattice design, was constructed in 1890 to cross Wehadkee Creek in Troup County. Decades later, it was moved to nearby Callaway Gardens, where it sat for 57 years.
But as the Mulberry cemetery project came together, Tilley saw an opportunity. “I called and said, ‘Look, it’s really time for the bridge to come home’,” she recalled. “When they agreed, we were ecstatic.”
Now the pedestrian crossing links the cemetery to The Thread trail system, offering a seamless connection for walkers and bikers.
Indeed, the project has pulled together all parts of the community,” Tilley said. “Today Horace King is still building bridges.”
