Much of Augusta's history lies beneath these grounds, which served as a burial ground for the Chickasaws before the first settlers. The earliest extant gravestone is that of Penelopy Simmons, who operated a hotel in Augusta and died in 1852. First known as Crescent Hill, the site was renamed Augusta Memorial Park in 1930. In 1867, Thomas Hough sold five acres to the City of Augusta, W.E. Ferguson sold 4.75 acres in 1905 and six acres in 1924, and his heirs sold 4.3 acres in 1969.