As part of its continuing Brown Bag History Series, the Museum will present Cedar Grove Cemetery, a lecture given by Mr. Arthur Holmes on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at 12:30 p.m.
A historic black cemetery located in downtown Augusta, Cedar Grove was constructed in 1820, when the City of Augusta allotted 40 acres of land for slaves to be laid to rest. These simple, unmarked graves now rest beside some of Augusta’s most prominent black business owners and educators, including R.A. Dent, the first black from Augusta elected to the Legislature, Rev. W. P. Russell who opened the Free African School at Ellis and Ninth Streets in 1865, and Mrs. Amanda Dickson Toomer, the richest black woman in the United STates, following the death of her father, and plantation owner, David Dickson.
Mr. Arthur (Audie) Holmes is an Assistant Professor of History at Paine College, where he teaches history and geography in the Division of Social Sciences. Holmes also taught for Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice for a number of years. During his lecture, he will speak of how the cemetery was first constructed and designated for slaves (free and unfree alike) by the City and some of the famous and not-so-famous individuals buried at Cedar Grove.
The Brown Bag History Series is an educational lecture series provided monthly by the Augusta Museum of History, and is an ideal lunch-time break for downtown professionals, retirees, and students. The lectures are free to Museum members and $3 for non-members. Participants should bring a lunch and the Museum provides beverages and dessert. Refreshments are served beginning at 11:30 a.m.; the lecture runs from 12:30 – 1:00 p.m.
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