Cumming Cemetery
Why it's listed
Cumming Cemetery is the city burial ground of Cumming, Georgia, laid out on a gently sloping hill beside the downtown square. Forsyth County set the land aside for public use in 1834, the same year the town was chartered, and early burials were tied to nearby Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist congregations. About 663 graves are marked, with simple slabs, headstones and obelisks carrying Christian imagery such as crosses, lambs, doves and urns. Many monuments were produced by marble workers in Tate, Marble Hill and Ball Ground. There are no roads or paths, and burials followed family plots rather than a formal design. Prominent families, including the Willinghams, Baileys, Fosters and Estes, placed their costly monuments on the highest ground. The cemetery was listed for its landscape character and its funerary art, and for the graves of early county leaders, merchants, physicians and legislators. A stone wall and iron fence added in 1999 is the only noncontributing feature.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is a good, intact example of a small-town Georgia city cemetery with features of Victorian-era rural cemeteries, including its elevated location, landscape and funerary art. It differs from many cemeteries of its time because it was set aside by the county for public use rather than run by a private association. It also holds the graves of many early civic leaders and founding families, and it serves as a historical record because city and church records were lost.
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 05000428, listed May 21, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Bordered by GA 20, GA 9 and Resthaven Dr., Cumming |
|---|---|
| County | Forsyth County |
| Listed | May 21, 2005 |
| Reference number | 05000428 |
| Resource type | Site |
| Period of significance | 1834-1954 |
| Architectural style | No style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Art, Landscape Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in use as a cemetery; a rock retaining wall with an iron fence was added in 1999, along with restoration of fallen markers. |
| Acreage | 2.8 |
| Coordinates | 34.20513, -84.13780 (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 05000428.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.