The Story
This small burial ground occupies a plot on the south side of Sparta that Benjamin Tarpley Harris conveyed to the Catholic Diocese of Savannah in August 1869, the same summer that a Catholic chapel was dedicated on the site. The chapel faced west toward Court Street with the graves laid out on its southern side, and within the roughly one-and-a-quarter-acre tract are about ten known burials, including a child, with both Black and white residents interred there. By the modern era the church had fallen to ruin, leaving its foundation and a scattering of grave markers on the corner of Hancock and Court streets in Hancock County.
About this site
Sparta Catholic Cemetery is a cemetery in Sparta, Hancock County. It is one of 140 cemeteries documented in Hancock County, among 163 historic sites cataloged across the county on Georgia Roam.
The site sits at 33.2716, -82.9760 near Sparta. The nearest cataloged historic site is Hancock County (historical marker), about 0.3 miles away. Others within a short drive include Hancock County Courthouse, Old Eagle Tavern, and Pierce Memorial Methodist Church.
This record is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
History
This small burial ground occupies a plot on the south side of Sparta that Benjamin Tarpley Harris conveyed to the Catholic Diocese of Savannah in August 1869, the same summer that a Catholic chapel was dedicated on the site. The chapel faced west toward Court Street with the graves laid out on its southern side, and within the roughly one-and-a-quarter-acre tract are about ten known burials, including a child, with both Black and white residents interred there. By the modern era the church had fallen to ruin, leaving its foundation and a scattering of grave markers on the corner of Hancock and Court streets in Hancock County.
Sources: friendsofcems.orggeorgiabulletin.org
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