Abandoned cemetery found in South Fulton neighborhood

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People in a South Fulton neighborhood are searching for answers after the recent discovery of what appears to be an abandoned cemetery.

The decaying headstones are located in a vacant lot used as a cut-through from one neighborhood to another. It's a vacant lot with a well-worn path used by many to cut between two neighborhoods with a slice of history in between.

"I see a grave site right there. There's a grave," said Kathleen Brewer, who's concerned about the unkempt graves.

One grave with a worn-out name and date seemingly goes back more than 100 years and appeared to be the last unbroken marker among other grave sites.

"Here, it's one here. There's about six of them, but the kids done broke them off," Brewer said.

Whoever broke them, or if the fragments of multiple headstones are a consequence of time, is irrelevant to Brewer.

She told FOX 5 News her Pointer Ridge neighborhood homeowners association was searching for a place for the kids to play. That led her to the tombstones, which shifted her focus to respect for the dead.

"I think these people deserve better. They make good neighbors, but we need to clean it up. I wouldn't want to be at rest out here," said Brewer.

She has no visions of anything poltergeist, nor does the owner of the home next door to the graves.

Erma Rogers said no one told her of the silent neighbors when she bought the house two years ago.

"I hate that it's next door to my house, but the dead can't wake up. But it would be a nice thing if someone cleaned it often," said Rogers.

Residents reached out to the City of South Fulton, which in a statement wrote: "The Community Development and Regulatory Affairs Department is conducting research to identify the owner. Upon identifying the owner, CDRA will communicate expectations relative to upkeep and maintenance of the property."

For Kathleen Brewer, it's only the beginning of a journey for answers for those who can't speak for themselves.

"I'm gonna not stop until I find out or get this cleaned up, even if I have to do it myself," she said.

Brewer thinks the graves were part of an old church that was torn down.

South Fulton did not indicate a timeline for identifying the landowner or how long it could take for any kind of upkeep or maintenance to begin.