Friends of the City Cemeteries
Villa Rica, Georgia
Goals Accomplished
Hillcrest Cemetery
2020​
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OCTOBER
Our first preservation project! Joey Fernandez, with Preserving Our Georgia Cemeteries, LLC, spent two days at Hillcrest Cemetery to repair the monuments of Austin Pope, Blanche Carolyn Shaw, and the family monument of Joseph Stone and his wife, Mary. A Stone and daughter, Bessie M. Stone.
Instructed Renee Hooks and the Seth Washburn Society youth on the correct procedure for cleaning headstones. The group cleaned 12 headstones, including the Willoughby family and the Sarah Candler Chapman rock wall.
2021
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MARCH
Cleaned and leveled Martin family headstones and Eliza Evans' headstone
Cleaned 2 unknown Chambers box graves in the Old Section and 6 headstones
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APRIL
Added edge stone and flowers around the front sign
Added flowers to the remembrance garden
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MAY
Cleaned 2 box graves and 5 headstones in the Old Section
Joey Fernandez reset the base and assembled the sections of the W. A.Floyd obelisk
Road closed barricade installed next to Floyd obelisk to prevent repeated damage
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JUNE
Cleaned 2 Chambers box graves in the Old Section
Narrow road signage installed along Hillcrest Dr
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JULY
The first meeting of the Hillcrest Walking Tour Brochure Committee
Scheduled October arborist appt for Hillcrest trees
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SEPTEMBER
Summer flowers planted around the front sign
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OCTOBER
Repaired 7 and cleaned 6 headstones
Began prepping the area for spring planting along the fence in the Old Section
Friends of the City Cemeteries was featured in the Villa Rican Newspaper
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2022
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JANUARY
Cleaned bed and planted phlox and sedum around the back sign
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FEBRUARY
Racked pine straw off plots near the mausoleum
Cleaned 7 headstones
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MARCH
Tree and Limb Removal Project
Richmond Tree Experts cut down over 40 trees of various sizes and species, some of the largest being the 100+
year-old oak trees. This is part of a beautification project planned by the Villa Rica City Cemetery Commission and the Friends of the City Cemeteries.
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MAY
In the Remembrance Garden - planted two azaleas and one hibiscus and added bricks in front of the crepe myrtle
Cleaned 5 headstones
Yucca plants removed from around the cemetery
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JUNE
Cleaned 22 headstones
Sprayed 14 headstones with D2
Leveled one headstone
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AUGUST
Boxwood and crepe myrtle bushes cut down near King/Maner plot
Cleaned 18 headstones
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SEPTEMBER
Cleaned 18 headstones
Planted grass seed in the Old Section
Candler wall cleaning continued
Repaired and cleaned 2 Johnson family headstones
Discovered field stone near Johnson family headstones
Reattached the urn to the top of the pedestal monument for Joseph & Mary Stone
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OCTOBER
A water meter was installed in the Old Section
Repaired 1, leveled 10, and cleaned 19 headstones
Infilled 3 monuments
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NOVEMBER
Cut down bushes blocking 2 companion headstones
Planted 14 Camillas and 3 hydrangeas in the Old Section
Cleaned moss from 3 Chambers box graves
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DECEMBER
Sprayed 2 headstones with D2
Dug up lone azalea, transplanted to Old Town
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2023
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JANUARY
Villa Rica City Council passes updated City Cemetery Ordinance
Threw away old flowers from plots
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APRIL
Cleaned 26 headstones
City crew begins grinding tree stumps
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MAY
Trimmed down 10-foot-high loropetalums along the front
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JUNE
Cleaned 35 headstones
Leveled 12 headstones
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JULY
Leveled 5 headstones
Planted zinnia and sedum in cradle graves
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AUGUST
Leveled 33 headstones
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SEPTEMBER
Cleaned 14 headstones
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NOVEMBER
Cleaned 13 headstones
Removed Florida Sunshine bushes from the front sign
Added large rocks along the front bed on the east entrance
Redesigned landscaping in Remembrance Garden
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DECEMBER
City crew cut back limbs from behind the dentist's office that were encroaching onto the plots
2024 -
JANUARY
Put out two pallets of red retaining wall blocks around the front flower beds
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FEBRUARY
Cleaned 26 headstones
Leveled 6 headstones
Cleared one gravestone ledger
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MARCH
Cleaned 20 headstones
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APRIL
Cleaned 12 headstones
Leveled 1 headstone
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MAY
Cleaned 20
Leveled 1 headstone & 2 cradle graves
Planted perennials in seven cradle graves
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Garden of Rest Cemetery
2020​
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​MARCH
Created beds around the roses
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JUNE
Created a flower bed around the front sign
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OCTOBER
Created a new flower bed in the back, around the bench, and planted crepe myrtles and butterfly bushes
Planted new flowers in the front bed and added mulch​
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2021
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FEBRUARY
Created a new, long rose bed by connecting two single roses. North of the other long rose bed
Put two Florida Sunshine bushes in the center
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MARCH
Added bricks around the front bed and roses
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APRIL
Added bricks around the back bed
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JUNE
Created a flower bed around the front sign
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SEPTEMBER
Installed grave marker prototype to replace the temporary metal cemetery markers provided by funeral homes
Tall fescue grass seed planted in bare spots
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DECEMBER
The city crew removed the spoils fencing area. It was falling apart
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2022
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JANUARY
Added new plants to bed around the bench and front sign
Removed rose bed that was not doing well; it only had one rose remaining
Planted Eastern Red Cedar in the area where spoils fencing used to be
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FEBRUARY
Edged grass off the right driveway
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MAY
Planted two butterfly bushes from the Friend's Open House
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DECEMBER
Dug up 5 roses, couldn't keep weeds out of the beds
Moved bricks around the Eastern Red Cedar Tree
City crew installed solar lights to illuminate the front sign
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​2023
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JANUARY
Villa Rica City Council passes updated City Cemetery Ordinance
Throw away old flowers from plots
Surveyed cemetery / Took pictures of all headstones / Sprayed Wilson headstone w/ ReVive
2024 -
JANUARY
Redesigned landscaping in the back flower bed
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MAY
Installed a new flower bed of butterfly bushes, miniature gardenias, and Stella de Oro Daylilies along the back fence.
Repaired chain link fence along the back.
Old Town Cemetery
2019
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FEBRUARY
Began to clear out the back area that had become overgrown
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MAY
Cleaned 9 headstones
Discovered a small footer in a base near Fannie Floyd Conner's crypt
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SEPTEMBER
Cleaned 15 and repaired 2 headstones
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OCTOBER
Cleaned 6 headstones
Repaired and reset the headstone for William Monroe Leatherwood
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NOVEMBER
Discovered headstone for B Lucious, son of Reab Sanders
Put poinsettias on veterans' gravesites and decorated the front sign for the holidays
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DECEMBER
Planted roses on the hill that had been growing in the ditch near 61
2020
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JANUARY
City crews and volunteers cleared out vines, trees, and briers from an area previously inaccessible, revealing
over 30 fieldstones
Fencing put in front of the flower bed on the hill
Discovered 6 field stones and a missing section of a recently discovered headstone
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FEBRUARY
Planted nandina and bulbs around the front sign
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APRIL
Leveled John Heath's headstone
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JUNE
City crew sprayed the back area for weeds, briars, and poison ivy
2021
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APRIL
Fannie S. Floyd Conner's crypt has collapsed on one side
Cinder blocks were put above James Bryce's headstone to protect it from water runoff
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MAY
Joey Fernandez leveled and secured James Bryce's monument. Cleaned with D2
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SEPTEMBER
Joey Fernandez spent two days repairing Fannie S. Floyd Conner's crypt and her daughter, Nellie's headstone.
He also planted an Eastern Red Cedar tree
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2022
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JANUARY
Put pine straw in flower beds, created a new bed, and planted liriope on the hill along Punkintown Rd.
Continued to clear out the back section
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APRIL
Planted Camilla, hydrangea, gardenia, azaleas, bulbs, and lantana
Dug up Yucca and removed the bed it was in from along Punkintown Rd.
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SEPTEMBER
Planted more liriope on the left side hill along Punkintown Rd.
Cut down stumps in the back area
Marked 18 trees to be cut down by the city: 5 dead, 13 small
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DECEMBER
Planted 5 Camillas, an azalea, and lilies. 3 Camillas, 1 azalea, and lilies came from Hillcrest
City crew installed a water meter along the road
City crew began cutting down dead and small trees and removing big stumps
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2023
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JANUARY
Continued to clean up trees and bushes from the lower left, found field stones near Ragan family
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MARCH
Found field stones along Punkintown Rd
City crew cut down the final trees to be removed
Villa Rica City Council passes updated City Cemetery Ordinance
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APRIL
Ancestry for Old Villa Rica Cemetery completed
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JULY
Put St. Astier Lithomex LMMarb1 (Marble) mortar in footer bases for George and Charity McLarty.
Set Emma Mable in her base w/ mortar and used Akemi Akepox Epoxy 5010 to connect her broken headstone.
Set James McLarty's tablet in the ground. Used Akemi Akepox Epoxy 5010 to connect two pieces.
Leveled and reset Lucus Sanders headstone and used Akemi Akepox Epoxy 5010 to connect the two broken pieces
Planted two Gerber Daisies in front of the sign and an azalea along Punkintown to replace a Gardina that died.
Limbed up the trees
Used Akemi Akepox Epoxy 5010 to attach the broken corner pieces of the top of James McLarty's headstone.
Set field stone with an unusual head in a base using Lithomex Buff Brick mortar.
2024 -
JANUARY
Continued to clear the back area and along the top corner
Reworked some plants