Cemetery request poses quandary for Dougherty Commission

ALBANY – An Albany businessman is asking Dougherty County commissioners to help preserve a cemetery that contains the remains of the parents of the founder of the town of Brinson.

Yaz Johnson, owner of Yaz Photography & Video, made the request during a Monday commission work session. 

“Simeon Brinson, who the town was named after, was born and raised in Dougherty County,” Johnson told an Albany Herald reporter outside the meeting. “There is history behind the gravesite. I’d like the county to clean up the site.”

Brinson is a small town of a little more than 200 in Decatur County

The Historic Chattahoochee Commission and the Decatur County Commission placed a marker at the town in 1986 noting Simeon Brinson’s role as the first postmaster of the Spring Creek Post Office and was still serving in that role when the name was changed to Brinson. He was a U.S. Civil War veteran who moved to Decatur County after the war and served as the first mayor of Brinson and later in the Georgia General Assembly.

The family burial plot is located at in the 3300 block of Twin Flower Road, Johnson said, and is located on land of a defunct company. He became familiar with the location while walking in the area as a teenager.

While the cemetery site is relatively small, Johnson has also asked that the county address kudzu overgrowth in a 30-acre area that nearby elderly residents cannot.

“I do think that there are a couple of things that the county would need to consider before it steps in,” County Attorney Alex Shalishali said. “Is it a matter of public interest? An argument could be made that it is. I think the more practical consideration (is) from an exposure standpoint. The cemetery area has already been damaged.”

Bringing in heavy equipment would pose a risk.

“In terms of the continued maintenance, that’s something the county should consider as well,” Shalishali said. “It is certainly something the county can get involved in, but I think we should proceed with caution.”

One potential solution is to contact genealogy and historic preservation groups to determine if they are interested in the cemetery. They could apply for grants to care for it, Commissioner Russell Gray said.