Preservation

Decatur has taken steps in recent years to preserve the history of the Beacon community and to honor its spirit. Much of the material in this brochure is taken from historic exhibits in the lobbies of the Ebster Recreation Center, 105 Electric Ave., in the northeast corner of our Beacon Municipal Center. These exhibits are largely the work of Mayor Emerita Elizabeth Wilson. 

Encouraged by her efforts, Friends of Decatur Cemetery is researching early Decatur African-Americans, such as Henry Oliver, Sallie Durham, Oscar White and Sister Lou Bratcher, who lived in the Beacon area and helped build its foundations. These individuals are among more than 900 people buried in the historic African-American part of the Decatur Cemetery known as Section 6. The oldest known graves in the section are those of Dorcas Henderson, Simon Read, and Israel Sanford, who all passed away in 1886. 

If you have information, images or artifacts from the African-American community in Decatur, please contact info@decaturga.com so that we can further expand our knowledge of this integral component of Decatur history.