28-01-2025
City of Decatur creates GIS marker program for historically Black cemetery
DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — People can now learn more about a historically Black cemetery in Decatur, and possibly even their family members, thanks to a grant from the Alabama Historical Commission.
The commission gave the City of Decatur the grant to help them establish a GIS marker program for the Magnolia-Sykes Cemetery. The program will allow people to search for grave markers online.
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Each accessible marker was tagged with a GIS code and entered into the database showing its exact location. When clicking one of the map's dots, the information listed on the marker, such as name, birth and death dates, are shown, along with photos of the actual grave marker.
The system also allows you to search by a family member's name.
According to the Decatur, Alabama Historic Preservation Commission, the private cemetery was built in response to the 1901 Alabama Constitution that declared Black people could no longer be buried with white people.
J. J. Sykes, who co-owned an undertaking business, saw an opportunity and acquired land with his brother S. S. Sykes to create a burial ground for Black residents. At the time, the site was located outside the city limits.
The site was originally called the Magnolia Cemetery because there were two magnolia trees on the property. Over the years, the cemetery's name has changed to Magnolia-Sykes and then Sykes Cemetery.
It remained the primary burial ground for Black residents until 1965 when the Sterrs Memorial addition was added to the Decatur Cemetery.
There is no cemetery plot map despite more than 800 grave markers on-site, making the GIS marker program necessary.
To see the map on the Decatur's historic preservation page, click here.
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