Decatur Cemetery

Last updated

Decatur Cemetery
Decatur Cemetery 04.jpg
Atlanta Central.png
Red pog.svg
USA Georgia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location229 Bell St., Decatur, Georgia
Coordinates 33°46′56″N84°17′32″W / 33.78222°N 84.29222°W / 33.78222; -84.29222
Area54 acres (22 ha)
Built1826 [1]
ArchitectScott, Robert et al.; Pauley, W.C.
NRHP reference No. 97000459 [2]
Added to NRHPMay 23, 1997

The Decatur Cemetery is a historic graveyard within the city of Decatur, Georgia, United States.

Contents

History

The Decatur Cemetery is the oldest burial ground in the Atlanta metropolitan area, 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.” [3] [1] Numerous Civil War veterans were buried in the Decatur Cemetery, mostly in the 8-acre (3.2 ha) 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. [4]

Today

The Decatur Cemetery has expanded to 54 acres (22 ha) [5] 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 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.[ citation needed ]

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.[ citation needed ]

Notable graves

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DeKalb County, Georgia</span> County in Georgia, United states

DeKalb County is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,382, making it Georgia's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat is Decatur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decatur, Georgia</span> City in Georgia, United States

Decatur is a city in, and the county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 census, the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear Decatur as the address.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Druid Hills, Georgia</span> Neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Druid Hills is a community which includes both a census-designated place (CDP) in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, as well as a neighborhood of the city of Atlanta. The CDP's population was 14,568 at the 2010 census. The CDP formerly contained the main campus of Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); however, they were annexed by Atlanta in 2018. The Atlanta-city section of Druid Hills is one of Atlanta's most affluent neighborhoods with a mean household income in excess of $238,500.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Druid Hills, Georgia</span> Place in Georgia, United States

North Druid Hills, also known as Briarcliff or Toco Hills, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 20,385 in 2020. The commercial center of the area is the Toco Hill Shopping Center, located near the intersection of North Druid Hills Road and LaVista Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottdale, Georgia</span> Place in Georgia, United States

Scottdale is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 10,698 in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congressional Cemetery</span> Historic burial ground in Washington, D.C.

The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street, S.E., in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American "cemetery of national memory" founded before the Civil War. Over 65,000 individuals are buried or memorialized at the cemetery, including many who helped form the nation and Washington, D.C. in the early 19th century.

East Atlanta is a neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The name East Atlanta Village primarily refers to the neighborhood's commercial district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakland Cemetery (Atlanta)</span> Historic garden cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Oakland Cemetery is one of the largest cemetery green spaces in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded as Atlanta Cemetery in 1850 on six acres (2.4 hectares) of land southeast of the city, it was renamed in 1872 to reflect the large number of oak and magnolia trees growing in the area. By that time, the city had grown and the cemetery had enlarged correspondingly to the current 48 acres (190,000 m2). Since then, Atlanta has continued to expand so that the cemetery is now located in the center of the city. Oakland is an excellent example of a Victorian-style cemetery, and reflects the "garden cemetery" movement started and exemplified by Mount Auburn Cemetery in Massachusetts.

There were several historic mills around the metro Atlanta area, for which many of its current-day roads are still named. Most of the mills date back to the 1820s and 1830s, and were built along the area's many streams. The locations of many of these mills are shown on a map of 1875 showing U. S. military operations around Atlanta in 1864. This map is now located in the U. S. Library of Congress but can be seen on the webpage linked here.

William E. Ezzard was a Southern United States politician who served as the 11th, 13th and 19th Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, in the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westview Cemetery</span> Cemetery in Fulton County, Georgia, US

Westview Cemetery, located in Atlanta, Georgia, is the largest civilian cemetery in the Southeastern United States, comprising more than 582 acres (2.36 km2), 50 percent of which is undeveloped. The cemetery includes the graves of more than 125,000 people and was added to the Georgia Register of Historic Places in 2019 and the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milton A. Candler</span> American politician

Milton Anthony Candler was an American lawyer, Confederate officer and politician from an influential Georgia family of businessmen and politicians. He served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Winnona Park is a historic area in the southeast corner of the Atlanta, Georgia suburb of Decatur. It is listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places, but it is not one of the City of Decatur's locally designated historic districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adair Park (Decatur)</span>

Adair Park is a historic and contemporary community in the west section of the Atlanta, Georgia suburb of Decatur. It is one of Decatur’s most diverse communities in terms of building types, and includes several individual neighborhoods. Adair Park has single family residences, townhomes, cluster homes, institutional buildings and commercial buildings – built from the early 1900s to 2008. Its rough boundaries are: downtown Decatur to the east; Ponce de Leon Avenue to the north; Howard Avenue and the railroad tracks to the south; and the Parkwood neighborhood to the west. There is also an Adair Park in southwest Atlanta, but it is not part of the Decatur community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meadow Nook</span> Historic house in Georgia, United States

Meadow Nook is an antebellum house in Atlanta, Georgia. It is located at 2420 Alston Drive in the East Lake neighborhood, in DeKalb County. It is one of only three antebellum homes still standing in their original locations within the city limits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Ann Harris Gay</span> American poet

Mary Ann Harris Gay was an American writer and poet from Decatur, Georgia, known for her memoir Life in Dixie During the War (1897) about her life in Atlanta during the American Civil War. Author Margaret Mitchell said Gay's memoir inspired some passages in her novel Gone with the Wind (1936). Gay also published a book of poetry in 1858, which she republished after the war to raise money to help support her mother and sister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Gay House</span> Historic house in Georgia, United States

The Mary Gay House is a historic house at 716 West Trinity Place in downtown Decatur, Georgia. It was the home of Mary Ann Harris Gay, who moved there with her mother and sister about 1850. She and her sister lived there during the American Civil War and afterwards. The house was built approximately 1850 and is one of the few extant pre-Civil War buildings in the area. The house was entered into the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on May 6, 1975. It is now named "716 West" and is used as a wedding/event venue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swanton House</span> Historic house in Georgia, United States

The Swanton House is a historic building in downtown Decatur, Georgia and is one of a very few pre-Civil War buildings in the area which are still standing. It was entered into the National Register of Historic Places on August 30, 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flat Rock Archives</span> Archives in Stonecrest, Georgia, USA

The Flat Rock Archives is an African American historical museum located in the city of Stonecrest, Georgia. The mission of the archive is to preserve rural African American history in Georgia. The archive is located in a historic home built by T.A. Bryant, Sr., and was donated in 2005, by Rev. T.A. Bryant, Jr. and his sister, Zudia Guthrie, to preserve and store all the Flat Rock records and documents. It was established as a museum and resource to genealogical and historic research, as well as a heritage tourism site. The Flat Rock Archives consists of a variety of historic sites including the Flat Rock African American Historic Cemetery. All of these sites are located within the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area. See Flat Rock, Georgia to learn more about the history of this area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellevue Cemetery (Danville, Kentucky)</span> Historic cemetery

Bellevue Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Danville, Kentucky. It was established in the 1840s and was originally named Danville City Cemetery.

References

  1. 1 2 Thomas 1997, p. 7.
  2. Thomas, Kenneth H. Jr. (April 1997). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Decatur Cemetery". National Park Service . Retrieved April 22, 2017. With 24 photos from March 1997
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "DeKalb County Historical Markers - Historic Decatur Cemetery". GeorgiaInfo - An Online Georgia Almanac. University System of Georgia . Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  4. "Friends of Decatur Cemetery". City of Decatur Public Works. Decatur, Georgia . Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  5. "Decatur Cemetery". City of Decatur, GA. Decatur, Georgia . Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Decatur Cemetery - Lives that Made our City - Walking Tour" (PDF). Decatur, Georgia . Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Thomas 1997, p. 17.
  8. "Dr. Sledd Paid Final Tribute," The Atlanta Constitution, p. 16A (March 19, 1939). Retrieved November 4, 2015. (subscription required)