Basket Creek Cemetery
Why it's listed
Basket Creek Cemetery, near Douglasville in south Douglas County, Georgia, holds 110 known burials of African-American members of the Basket Creek Baptist Church. Opened in 1886 and still in use, it is laid out informally in irregular rows on a bare, swept-earth lot. Most graves carry roughly carved upright stones, many without inscriptions, and most are covered by one-foot-high red-clay mounds. Church members and descendants rebuild these mounds twice a year, continuing a ritual with West African origins. The cemetery is the only documented example of grave mounding in Georgia. It is also the last surviving trace of a rural Black community of farms, sawmills and churches along the Chattahoochee River, whose Endsley family members were formerly enslaved and later migrated to places such as California and Michigan. It was listed for its ethnic heritage, social history and landscape architecture, with a period of significance from 1886 to 1959.
Significance in brief: It is the last remaining vestige of a turn-of-the-20th-century rural African-American community in south Douglas County. It is also the only documented extant example of grave mounding in Georgia, a funerary ritual with West African roots. Its red-clay grave mounds are an exceptional example of a Southern Folk Cemetery landscape.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 09000326, listed May 20, 2009. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 7829 Capps Ferry Rd., Douglasville |
|---|---|
| County | Douglas County |
| Listed | May 20, 2009 |
| Reference number | 09000326 |
| Resource type | Site |
| Period of significance | 1886-1959 |
| Architectural style | Southern Folk Cemetery |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Black, Landscape Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still an active cemetery, maintained by the Basket Creek Baptist Church, with the grave mounds restored twice a year. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 33.60666, -84.82770 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Sites (archaeological sites, battlefields, landscapes) are often listed with a restricted address to protect them from looting or disturbance. Listing is honorary for private owners; federal undertakings on or near the site go through Section 106 review, and state laws may protect burials and artefacts regardless of listing.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 09000326.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q117625302
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.