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Residents press Roswell to add Pleasant Hill Cemetery to city maintenance, discuss Doc’s Cafe preservation
Summary
Several residents urged the city to include Pleasant Hill Cemetery in municipal maintenance, cited its history as a burial site for enslaved people, and asked for clearer preservation plans for Doc's Cafe and other historic assets.
Residents at the March 31 Roswell open forum pressed council and staff to add Pleasant Hill Cemetery to the city's maintenance inventory and to take steps to preserve and better activate historic Black heritage sites such as Doc’s Cafe.
Gail Bohannon McCoy and others told council volunteers have maintained Pleasant Hill for years and asked why the city funds maintenance of Founders Cemetery and the Roswell Historic Cemetery but not Pleasant Hill. City staff told residents the city currently maintains Founders Cemetery (off Sloan Street) and Roswell Historic Cemetery (on Highway 9) but has not historically funded Pleasant Hill’s maintenance; volunteers and local groups have performed upkeep.
Mary Robichaud described Pleasant Hill as a burial place dating to 1855 where people enslaved in Roswell were laid to rest. She and other residents said Pleasant Hill is eligible for historic signage and could be incorporated into a Black historic trail or tourism route. Several speakers urged a memorandum of understanding or a permanent funding commitment to maintain Pleasant Hill going forward.
Residents also asked the council to prioritize Doc’s Cafe — an historic Black business structure currently in disrepair — and to make preservation and activation of the site part of the city’s economic and heritage strategy. Staff said roughly $65,000 had been encumbered in an earlier budget for initial work related to the building but that larger restoration and activation would likely require between $1 million and $2 million depending on scope.
Council members, city staff and volunteers said they would follow up with meetings to explore formalizing maintenance responsibilities. Councilmember remarks acknowledged volunteer contributions already made on Pleasant Hill and an interest in working with local groups on preservation and activation plans for Doc’s Cafe and other historic properties.
Speakers connected cemetery and building preservation to the city’s broader cultural-heritage activation work, including events, partnerships and planned improvements to Mimosa Hall and other historic properties.
