Founded in 1882 by the Gospel Pilgrim Society, a fraternal organization, Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery provided respectable funerals and burial places for Athens-area African Americans. Popular in the nineteenth century, such societies helped offset funeral costs and ensured a funeral procession and proper burial for members. The cemetery reflects a Reconstruction-era shift in the black community away from burial sites associated with specific churches and also preserves fine examples of African-American funerary art. Approximately 3500 persons are buried here, including state legislator Madison Davis and nationally recognized folk artist Harriet Powers.