Q: Off of Sullivan Road near Hartsfield Airport there is a small cemetery called Flat Rock. Can you tell me about the cemetery?
A: Flat Rock Cemetery is located on the south side of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and was established in 1877.
The land is owned by the airport authority and near the fifth runway. A wire fence adjacent to the site protects the airport property.
A reminder of an area that once housed a church, now simply ‘contains the remains of many of the earliest settlers to the surrounding Flat Rock community,’ according to an historic marker at the site.
“Many of these people had moved into the area in the years before the Civil War and established their small farms,” according to the marker. “In December of 1872, they formed Flat Rock Baptist Church.”
As the airport expanded in the 1960s, the congregation dwindled until the land, except the cemetery, was sold to the city of Atlanta in 1970. The property was sold to the airport authority in 1979.
The church was demolished in the mid-1990s.
The cemetery is small and well kept. Markers vary from very basic to what was probably considered elaborate in years past. Depressions in the ground may indicate some unmarked sites.
As one would expect, faded artificial arrangements were found at a few of the headstones and some had flowers placed for the Christmas holiday.
Interestingly, nine egg plant were on the ground in front of a gated family plot.
Walking through the cemetery you can discover many stories by reading the tombstones. At one family plot, there was a grave for a 1-day-old girl, an 8-month-old boy and a 13-month-old boy.
There are headstones for veterans of the Civil War, World War I and World War II.
The most recent burial marked on a headstone is in 2012. There were some gravestones with open-ended dates.
Several of the headstones had fallen. There were two small Confederate flags next to headstones.
A few yucca plants were there as commonly seen in older cemeteries. Whether they were grave site markers or there for other reasons, it was unknown.
Due to expansion of the airport, you can no longer see planes taxi off the runway from the cemetery, but can see them in flight.
While the cemetery is tucked away to the side of the road, there is constant noise between the planes taking off, and commercial and residential travelers on Sullivan Road.
New to town or simply have a question about this place we call home? Email your request to atlactualfact@gmail.com.
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