OKEFENOKEE Heritage Center
Black Heritage Exhibit
From These Roots
Our “From These Roots” exhibit documents the rich history of contributions of African-Americans to the region.
Black pioneers such as Dr. G.P. Washington, who was the first black doctor in Waycross, opened the area’s first black hospital in 1890. Dr. O.C. Wynn established the lowest infant mortality rates in the country in the 1930s.
These are just some of the great African-Americans who are honored in this exhibit.
Red Hill Cemetery Project
In cooperation with the Okefenokee Heritage Center, the Red Hill Cemetery Project seeks to document the oldest African American cemetery in Waycross, Georgia. Over the last half century, the site has suffered from neglect, intentional vandalism, and aborted efforts at redevelopment, leaving the nearly six-acre parcel overgrown with brush and pines and marked by open graves and toppled monuments.
The cemetery contains an estimated 2,000 burials, some of them dating from the 1800s. This number includes approximately 800 named individuals whose burials occurred between 1908 and 1943. It is among the largest and oldest African American cemeteries in Southeast Georgia and remains an important center for members of the descendant communities. The cemetery appears in the records as Red Hill, Red Oak or colored cemetery. In 1909, five trustees — Juanita Garrett, Peter Likely, Nelson McMillan, George Roberts, and Jesse Wiggins — purchased the property for $82.00 from Maggie L. Williams, daughter of Dr. Benjamin Franklin Williams, an early founder of Waycross and a wealthy investor in timberland and turpentine. The site had already been used as a cemetery for decades at the time this property transfer was completed.
