CORNELIA, Ga. — A Cornelia man whose family has been buried for generations in a cemetery adjacent to a proposed mini-storage development says he is concerned about how close clearing work has come to graves holding his mother, grandparents and great-grandparents.
ZeAndre Ali Shakur Wilmont recently walked Now Georgia through the cemetery and pointed to a freshly cleared tract of land directly behind family burial plots where he said multiple generations of his relatives are interred.
“They’re clearing land all the way up to the front, man,” Wilmont said. “My great-grandparents to my grandparents to my mom, it’s all right there.”
Family ties spanning more than a century
Wilmont said his family connection to the cemetery spans more than 100 years, pointing out graves of his mother, grandparents and great-grandparents during a walk through the site. His mother, Icy Wilmont, died in 2011.
“This whole row is Wilmont,” he said. “These are people that have been here for like, as you can see, over 100 years.”
He said the presence of cleared land directly behind the cemetery has raised concerns about proximity and respect for the burial ground.
“I just felt like it’s a little bit too close,” Wilmont said.
City commission raises concerns about development site
At a recent Cornelia City Commission meeting, commissioners questioned whether the proposed mini-storage project fits the character of the area near a key gateway into the city.
Commissioner Mark Reed said the project raises concerns about how the city is perceived at a major entrance point.
“This is a highway business at the entrance into the city off the exit ramp,” Reed said. “ ‘Welcome to Cornelia — home of the mini-storage, not home of the Big Red Apple.’ ”
A question of ownership
Property records on Habersham County’s qPublic system list parcel 086018, which includes the cemetery property, as owned by Level Grove Baptist Church. However, that listing has been disputed by multiple parties contacted during reporting.
Matt Webb, a ministry associate with Level Grove Baptist Church, said the church does not own the cemetery and that the county’s listing is incorrect.
Webb said he was unsure why the property appears under the church in county records and suggested the cemetery may involve multiple parties.
Josh Hazle with McGahee-Griffin & McEntire Funeral Home said the cemetery is not controlled by a single entity and is instead divided into sections. Hazle said the funeral home manages the section to the left of the entrance road and oversees the sale of remaining burial lots in that newer portion. He said other areas of the cemetery are associated with individual families rather than a single governing owner.
Hazle also speculated that a portion of the property could be associated with Georgia Power due to nearby transmission lines, though he said he could not confirm ownership.
Georgia Power did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cornelia City Manager Donald Anderson confirmed the cemetery is not owned by a single entity and is divided into multiple sections. Anderson said different portions of the cemetery are associated with families and other groups rather than one unified ownership structure.
He also said he has notified the Habersham County tax assessor’s office that the property is not solely owned by Level Grove Baptist Church as listed in county records.
Volunteers needed for maintenance, donation-based upkeep
Cornelia Ward 2 Commissioner Janice Griggs said the cemetery is considered a private burial ground maintained through donations and volunteer efforts.
“It is considered a private cemetery, like I said, doesn’t belong to the church,” Griggs said. “It’s just like every lot owns itself.”
Griggs said she has spent nearly 20 years helping maintain the cemetery, including mowing grass and clearing vegetation. “It takes a lot of money to cut the grass every year and to keep it up.”
She said she was recently at the cemetery clearing overgrown limbs and debris along the roadway. “I go out there a lot of times and work myself… but one person can’t do it.”
Griggs said anyone with questions or wishing to contribute to upkeep can contact her at [email protected].
Griggs said she has met with property owner Todd Campbell, who is proposing the mini-storage project, and described him as cooperative during discussions. She said Campbell plans to install a fence between the development site and the cemetery to help ensure graves are not disturbed.
“He plans to put up a fence separating his property from the cemetery so the graves would not be disturbed,” Griggs said.
Griggs also said she and Campbell plan to tour the cemetery section together as discussions continue.
“I will do everything that I can,” she said. “The people that are doing the development back there, they’ve been very agreeable so far, and I think that will continue to be that way.”
The ownership of the cemetery remains unclear. Now Georgia filed an open records request with the Habersham County tax assessor’s office seeking documentation on ownership and tax responsibility for the specific portion of the cemetery and surrounding property. As of publication, the county had not responded to that request.
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