More than 300 people are buried less than a mile south of Lenox Square, many of whom are former slaves.
In June 2015, one family — retired Atlanta police officer Richard Thomas and his cousins Audrey Collins and Earl Dillard — ventured out to Piney Grove Cemetery to find their relatives for the first time in years.
Collins spotted her grandmother's headstone leaning against a tree, instead of fastened to the ground like the others.
When she came across a pile of broken headstones, she refused to look at them and ran.
The cemetery dates back to 1826, and today the area is barely recognizable as a resting place.
Sam Massell — president of the Buckhead Coalition — believes the graves haven't been disturbed or paved over for any developments.
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