Laurel Grove South was developed in 1850 on part of the former Springfield Plantation, as the city's older cemeteries filled. The City of Savannah calls it the most significant resting place for African Americans who died in the 19th and 20th centuries. Before emancipation, more free African Americans were buried here than in any other cemetery in the Southeast.

The graves tell the stories of church, school, business and civil rights leaders, including Henry Cunningham, the first pastor of Second African Baptist Church. The 90 acres feel like a park, with huge cypress trees in the wetlands. It's separate from Laurel Grove North across the expressway.