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Dekalb county parcel map5/6/2024 ![]() Other headstones were stolen.ĭue to the reconfiguration of the parking lot, the Crowley Mausoleum is now mostly hidden by trees and is behind a Napa Auto Parts store. After some community protests, construction for a Supercenter began and it opened in 2008.Īccording to Forest Crowley, there’ve been a number of break-ins at the Mausoleum over the last several years and some of the headstones on top of the box tombs were broken and thrown to the parking lot, then thrown away. In 2001, it finally closed and sat empty until Walmart purchased the land and demolished the mall. ![]() When Macy’s closed their clearance store there in 1995, the writing was on the wall. The area around the mall changed in the late 70s and 80s as white flight hit and some of the mall’s stores began to close. I can’t attest to it’s truthfulness as the research I’ve done says nothing about a land grand from the king of England. This plaque has since been pried from the mausoleum and stolen. Currently, the 11 graves (nine of them of the box variety) at the top of the mausoleum are members of the Crowley, Cross and Hawkins families. Sadly, no effort was made to save those graves and they were built over. There were 40 or 50 slave graves buried surrounding the cemetery. The builder had to dig down about 20 to 25 feet on all sides of the cemetery and then build the building around the cemetery. The builder agreed to build a mausoleum around the cemetery, which was in the parking lot. ![]() Completed in 1963, the mall was near the intersection of Memorial Drive and Columbia Road. In 1960, the Hills sold part of the land and leased the other part so that the Columbia Mall could be built. For a number of years in the 1950s, this fence fell into disrepair and livestock were able to enter and leave the cemetery. Photo by Lois MaukĪccording to Forest Crowley, the cemetery was originally in the middle of the pasture on the farm surrounded by a barbed wire fence. The graves were accessed by going up a stairway to the top. Many people have told me they remember it well when they lived in that area. ![]() I found this 1997 picture of the Crowley Mausoleum when it was in the Avondale Mall parking lot. Younger brother Seaborn Crowley and his family took it over from 1846 to 1896 when it was purchased by the Hill Family (also Crowley relatives). Son Allen Crowley owned the land from 1829 to 1846, when he moved his family by wagon train to Northern Mississippi. When James died, he was buried there as was his wife, Dorcas, in 1852. The family put their cemetery on a hill overlooking their land. He later owned additional farms and did well financially, owning a number of slaves. In 1822, James received about 500 acres in Decatur from a land lottery and farmed it until his death in 1828. His parents, Benjamin and Sarah, brought the family to Oglethorpe County, Ga. James Crowley was born in 1772 in Pittsylvania County, Va. Most of what I was able to find out about it was from an account from Forest Crowley, a descendant. The Crowley Mausoleum has a storied past but it currently sits forgotten. I’m going to talk about a place I get asked about from time to time. You can find Brenton on Facebook if you’re interested in helping out. A wonderful fellow named Brenton Head has spearheaded several clean up days in recent years and the mausoleum is now getting regular attention. (Author’s Note: Since I wrote this post in 2015, I have been contacted by several Crowley descendants and others wanting to know how they can get involved in cleaning up the mausoleum.
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