{"nrhp_refnum":"01000647","name":"Sparta Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"N of jct. of Hamilton and Boland Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sparta","county":"Hancock County","state":"GA","lat":33.278841181000075,"lon":-82.97387445699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2001-06-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Community Planning and Development","Landscape Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 9.76-acre public cemetery north of the intersection of Hamilton and Boland Streets in Sparta, the county seat of Hancock County, Georgia. It was established in 1805 and is owned by the City of Sparta.","why_significant":"The nomination finds it significant for its funerary monuments and ornamental iron fencing (art), for its tie to the early planning and growth of Sparta (community planning), and as a good example of an early 19th-century small-town Georgia cemetery (landscape architecture). It also holds the graves of notable figures including Epps Brown, David Dickson, William Terrell and Bishop George Foster Pierce.","narrative":"Sparta Cemetery is a 9.76-acre burial ground just north of downtown Sparta, in Hancock County, Georgia. Founded in 1805, the year the town was incorporated, it began on land owned by the Methodist Church and became the town cemetery, now owned by the City of Sparta. It was set aside for white residents; African-Americans were buried in church-associated cemeteries. The grounds follow a loose grid of about 750 lots, shaded by mature hardwoods and cedars, and hold markers from the early 1800s to the present. Truncated columns, obelisks, a draped urn and at least ten ornamental iron fences reflect 19th-century funerary art, including work by stonecutter Theodore Markwalter. The cemetery contains the graves of Revolutionary War veterans, about 30 Confederate soldiers, and prominent figures such as Epps Brown, David Dickson, William Terrell and Bishop George Foster Pierce. It was listed for its art, its role in town development and its landscape character, with a 1805-1951 period of significance.","period_of_significance":"1805-1951","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still a functioning city-owned cemetery in use for burials; some markers are in poor condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:42.839776-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/01000647.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000647/658e5d7d07-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000647/658e5d7d07-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Blastoids","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sparta_Cemetery_Signage.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Blastoids</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sparta_Cemetery_Signage.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"74000686","name":"Sparta Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/georgia/sparta-historic-district-74000686/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93208613","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q117683080"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/hancock-county/sparta-cemetery-01000647/"}