The Decatur Cemetery is a historic graveyard within the city of
Decatur, Georgia
Decatur () is a city and the county seat of DeKalb County, Georgia, DeKalb County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, th ...
, United States.
History
The Decatur Cemetery is the oldest burial ground in the
Atlanta metropolitan area
Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell metropolitan statistical area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the sixt ...
, and is believed to have been used even before Decatur's 1823 incorporation.
In 1832, an act by the local legislature created "Commissioners for the Decatur Burial Ground." Numerous Civil War veterans were buried in the Decatur Cemetery, mostly in the area now referred to as "The Old Cemetery". A wooden well house, built in 1881 with lattice and shingle details, has been restored by the Friends of Decatur Cemetery (FODC). The well hole has been sealed over with concrete for safety reasons and the house is now used as a gazebo.
Today
The Decatur Cemetery has expanded to and contains well over 20,000 graves. A special section exists for burial of cremated remains; the cemetery also contains a pond stocked with fish. This pond is also home to swans, ducks and turtles, and is a stopping place for
Canada geese
The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), sometimes called Canadian goose, is a large species of goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North ...
on migration. The cemetery is bordered by a forest of several acres, which borders the
Glennwood Estates neighborhood.
Features
The forested ravine east of the cemetery includes a newly completed pedestrian path which winds over a tributary of
Peachtree Creek. A small waterfall is just south of the southern bridge.
At the southeast corner of the cemetery there is a grove of giant bamboo, some with trunks over 20 cm in diameter. A short path leads through this grove to the end of the
Ponce de Leon Court Historic District.
Notable graves
* Lt. Col.
Robert Augustus Alston (1832-1879); state legislator and journalist, owner of ''
Meadow Nook''
*
Emily Verdery Battey (1826—1912); journalist
* Col.
Milton A. Candler (1837–1909); state senator and U.S. Congressman
* Dr
Thomas Holley Chivers (1806–1858); physician and poet
*
Mary Ann Harris Gay (1829–1918); author of ''Life in Dixie During the War''
*
William S. Howard (1875 – August 1, 1953) U.S. Congressman
*
Mary Gregory Jewett (1908 – January 16, 1976), historian and journalist
* Rev.
Hovie Lister
Hovie Franklin Lister (September 17, 1926 – December 28, 2001) was an American gospel musician, Baptist Minister, and politician. Lister was best known for his time as the front man of the Statesmen Quartet, perhaps the most well known and ren ...
(1926-2001) Gospel musician (
The Statesmen Quartet
The Statesmen Quartet (also known as Hovie Lister and The Statesmen Quartet) were an American southern gospel quartet founded in 1948 by Baptist Minister Hovie Lister. Along with the Blackwood Brothers, the Statesmen Quartet were considered ...
)
*
Charles Murphey (1799–1861); U.S. Congressman and a delegate to the Georgia Secession Convention
*
Robert Ramspeck (1890-1972) U.S. Congressman
* Col.
George Washington Scott (1829–1903); founder of
Agnes Scott College
Agnes Scott College is a Private university, private Women's Colleges in the Southern United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Decatur, Georgia. The college enrolls approximately 1,000 undergra ...
*
Andrew Sledd (1870–1939); founding president of the modern
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...
, and Emory University professor
Dr. Sledd Paid Final Tribute
" ''The Atlanta Constitution'', p. 16A (March 19, 1939). Retrieved November 4, 2015.
* Leslie Jasper Steele (1868–1929) Mayor of Decatur, U.S. Congressman
* Benjamin F. Swanton (1807–1890) owner of the historic Swanton House
* Leila Ross Wilburn (1885–1967) pioneering woman architect
* Rev. William Henry Clarke (1804-1872) minister at Wesley Chapel Methodist Church, and representative for DeKalb County in the Georgia House of Representatives.
Gallery
Image:Decatur Cemetery 01.jpg
Image:Decatur Cemetery 02.jpg
Image:Mary_A.H._Gay_gravestone.jpg
References
External links
Decatur Cemetery on Waymarking
Historic Decatur Cemetery on HMdb
{{National Register of Historic Places
Cemeteries in Atlanta
Atlanta metropolitan area
Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state)
Protected areas of DeKalb County, Georgia
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state)
National Register of Historic Places in Atlanta
Cemeteries established in the 1820s
1826 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)