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Archeological and Historical Investigations of Redfield Cemetery, Jones County, Georgia

Report Number
1781
Year of Publication
1995
Abstract

Volume I. The Redfield Cemetery in southern Jones County was excavated by archeologists prior to the construction of a new reservoir. Eighty graves were identified, excavated, and analyzed. Historical records and the archeological analysis establishes that the Redfield Cemetery was used by African-American tenant farmers during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Only one of the individuals could be positively identified: the others are unknown. Typical of turn of the century rural cemeteries, most of the interments; were of infants and very small children. Nearly 20 percent of the adult male remains were associated with bullets or shotgun pellets. Early twentieth century mortality records for Jones County show that tuberculosis was the leading cause of death, and that the people also suffered from a variety of infectious and nutritional diseases. Following the analysis the remains were reinterred on a hilltop close to the original cemetery location. Volume II. This is the second part to the Redfield Cemetery study. It is a compilation of photographs and sketch maps of each of the 80 burials excavated. Because of its subject matter, the depiction of human skeletal remains, which some may find offensive, it was decided to separate these from the main report. Coffin hardware, clothing artifacts, and other items are schematically depicted on the sketch maps. Below is a legend for the various symbols.