MOULTRIE, Ga. — Charles H. Johnson, the man known as owning the largest number of slaves in Colquitt County at the time, is said to have had some clearings near Okapilco Creek in Moultrie.

Coincidence or not, the Saint James Pallbearer No. 1 Cemetery is located near that same creek as it runs through the city of Moultrie, near Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street Southeast.

The cemetery has been part of the Moultrie community for almost a century — an online resource says it was organized Feb. 19, 1920. It has quietly existed as a resting place for the dead, but late last year it became a lot more.

On Dec. 26, the cemetery’s property manager, John Strong, and his team, Adrian Whitaker and Elijah Alexander, were out doing a renovation project on the site. Property alongside the cemetery was nothing but trees, grass, and dirt, he said.

That was the case — until Strong and his team discovered thousands of graves that may date back to the 1800s.

“We had a funeral out here, we buried a lady and I noticed the grass was kind of high on the other side,” said Strong. “We started Weedeating the trees and the grass. One of the roots buckled so I decided to cut it, so I cut up the root and dig it out, so I started digging then boom I hit a grave and on it the person was born in the 1800s so I kept digging and digging and more headstones started popping up. Once we crossed about four to five hundred graves we knew a decision had to be made.”

More than 2,000 graves later Strong and his team have dedicated their combined time and energy to make sure these people get proper respect. Luke Strong & Son Mortuary will host a ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday to dedicate those graves.

Luke Strong III, owner of the mortuary, said he’s excited about being able to preserve a piece of history.

“We are going to have a short service that will dedicate that portion of the cemetery to being historic, so we can continue to preserve the history of those who died,” Strong said. “Most of the people that died, (their) graves are unmarked so we decided to place white crosses on all of the graves we can identify.”

John Strong was excited about the history this holds for the community. He said he wants to do his part in preserving it as much as he can. The dedication program was his idea, and he’s taking extra steps to ensure the section stays in proper condition.

“It’s going to be special,” John Strong said. “The Mayor, Mr. Jeter from the hospital will be there. The police department is sending their honor guard to raise the flag and once we dedicate it to history I’m going to seal the streets off. Never again will a car be able to come in here; people will be able to walk and it will be open from sun up to sun down and put park benches in so people can appreciate it.”