Behavior Cemetery, Sapelo Island

Behavior Cemetery is a historic cemetery on Sapelo Island outside Hog Hammock, Georgia. The African-American cemetery is believed to date to before the American Civil War although the earliest marker is dated to the late 19th century. The cemetery is located in the center of Sapelo Island, towards the south end, 1‑1/4 miles west of Hog Hammock. It was originally associated with a former community named "Behavior" and slaves of the Thomas Spalding Plantation. An example of African-American burial grounds, the cemetery's grave markers include short posts at either end of the graves with epitaphs on wooden boards nailed to the surrounding trees and personal items included with the deceased. More recent tombstones are cement, granite or metal. It may have been a slave burial ground and is located near the former slave quarters of Thomas Spalding's plantation and the Sugar Mill Complex west of the cemetery. In 1996, it was still in use and was the only cemetery associated with the African American community on Sapelo Island. ()