Visiting cemeteries might seem like a strange thing to do on vacation, but it’s one of my favorite things to do. Historic cemeteries offer quiet greenspaces full of architecture and sculpture that can be the perfect place for a contemplative walk.
Bonaventure Cemetery
Though you will no longer find the famous “Bird Girl” statue from the cover of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil located here (it has been relocated to the Jepson Center for the Arts for safekeeping), this expansive and impressive cemetery is still worth viewing. Full of live oaks, Spanish moss, and decorative sculptures, the Bonaventure Cemetery offers an opportunity for quiet walks in a gothic setting not far from the main tourist areas of Savannah. John Muir, the father of the National Parks system, once spent several nights camping among the tombs and even wrote about the experience in his book A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf. Among those buried here, you’ll find singer-songwriter Johnny Mercer and Jack Leigh—who took the famous photo of “Bird Girl.” The Bonaventure Cemetery is open daily from 8a-5p and entry is free. Multiple companies provide guided tours of Bonaventure Cemetery or you can download a tour app from the Bonaventure Historical Society to your cellphone for a small fee.
Colonial Park Cemetery
The oldest surviving cemetery in Savannah, this park-like space is easily accessed from the main tourist sections of Savannah. Here you’ll find not only individual gravesites, such as one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence (Button Gwinnett), but mass graves from Yellow Fever outbreaks as well. The Colonial Park Cemetery is open daily from 8a-5p in the winter and 8a-8p in the summer. Entry is free.
Laurel Grove Cemetery (North and South)
Originally the site of rice fields, the segregated Laurel Grove Cemetery was established in the mid-1800s. The entire northern portion of the cemetery was filled quickly during the Victorian era and visitors can still appreciate the ornate monuments built during this time. The southern portion of the cemetery was dedicated to the interment of African Americans, both free and enslaved, and many individuals were relocated to Laurel Grove South from older cemeteries closer to the city center. Among those buried in Laurel Grove South, you’ll find Andrew Bryan—an influential leader in the First African Baptist Church, Jane DeVeaux—who ran a secret school for slaves, and Westley Wallace Law—a prominent figure in the Civil Rights movement. The Laurel Grove Cemetery is open daily from 8a-5p and entry is free.
LePageville Cemetery
LePageville was home to African American employees of the railway in the 19th century. The community included a church and associated cemetery, where likely several hundred people were buried…their graves marked with simple wooden crosses or even pots and pans. When the town was later demolished, the land became overgrown and the LePageville cemetery was nearly lost to history. Recent efforts have been made to preserve this burying ground and the memory of those that continue to rest there today. This is an ongoing project that is still in its early stages, but potentially worth a quick visit if you happen to be in the area (though it is out of the way of most tourist zones).
