Oakland Cemetery

One thing that I had never done before was take a tour of Oakland Cemetery.  Founded in 1850, it is the oldest cemetery in Atlanta.  The cemetery is 48 acres (190,000 m²) and is in the center of the city.


There are about 70,000 people buried here.  Even though the last plots were sold in 1884 there are still regular burials.  Although they are normally for family-owned plots.

Oakland Cemetery is a Victorian-style garden cemetery.  Many of the people interred here are a historical who's who of Atlanta including six former Georgia governors, five Confederate generals, Golf legend Bobby Jones and author Margaret Mitchell. 

Grave of golfer Bobby Jones

Due to historical regions there are areas which used to be reserved only for Blacks and Jews.




There are also sections for Confederate and Union dead, including around 3,000  unknown soldiers most of whom perished in the Battle of Atlanta.

Oakland is well known for its more than 50 mausoleums.  Most of them were built in the late 1800s.  Most of them been refurbished with the rest to be completed by the end of this year. 

The most striking monument in the Confederate section is the Lion of Atlanta.  The lion guards a field containing the remains of unknown Northern and Southern soldiers.  The marble statue was carved in 1894.  With a few exceptions it is almost an exact copy of the Lion of Lucerne in Switzerland.