Remembering toll, legacy of Chattahoochee Brick Co.

A “sacred site ceremony” was held Saturday, beginning with a march from English Park to the defunct Chattahoochee Brick Co. in northwest Atlanta.

Organizers of the gathering said it aimed “to claim and consecrate the grounds where our ancestors suffered, bled and died working under ‘slavery by another name,’ the horrific convict lease system.”

The large site, located near the Chattahoochee River just north of Bolton Road, once belonged to the Chattahoochee Brick Co., which used inmates from Georgia’s prisons to perform backbreaking labor. The inmates, who were leased through a state-run system operated from the 1860s until the early 1900s, suffered and some even died on the job from abuse and a lack of care.

In February, Norfolk Southern announced it was abandoning its plans to build a rail terminal on the land. The rail company’s decision came days after the city of Atlanta took legal action to stop Norfolk from developing the land. That news also drew cheers from nearby residents who have pushed for years to prevent development on the historic land.

Saturday’s ceremony included metro pastors as prayers were held as part of the remembrance in addition to consecration of the grounds where people had lost their lives in the convict lease system. A cross bearing the names of the victims was erected as a tangible reminder.

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