This weekend I spent time visiting the Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. This magnificent garden-style cemetery was created in 1850 and was originally called the Atlanta Cemetery. Once you pass the gate you truly enter the world of Atlanta’s past. It is home to more than 70,000 residents and is the final resting place for many local celebrities, politicians, prominent business leaders, and ordinary citizens. Some notable names include Bobby Jones, Margaret Mitchell, Joel Hurt, Morris and Emanuel Rich, Samuel Inman, plus twenty-seven former mayors as well as former governors. Each of these fine individuals placed an indelible mark on history. May their fame carry on for generations.

Confederate Memorial Grounds is an area within the cemetery that is the resting place for some 3,900 known confederate soldiers, each one marked by name. Additionally, there is an incredible 3,000 unknown confederate soldiers that lie in rest guarded by the Lion of Atlanta. Towering at the center of all the confederate gravestones stands the magnificent Obelisk. It was the tallest structure in Atlanta when completed in 1870 and rightfully stood above all other structures in the city at that time.

During the time of its creation, Victorian cemeteries were developed as community parks. Many families spent weekends strolling through the cemetery and spending time gardening at the family plot. Lush flowers adorned the gravestones and created a sense of heaven on earth.

Oakland Cemetery is truly a wonderful place to discover Atlanta history and a way to better understand the city as it is today. If you live in the Atlanta area have not visited this cemetery before, do so and after your visit another great discovery I found was the Six Feet Under Pub & Fish House across the street.  It has a rooftop deck and the catfish was delicious.

Interactive map of Oakland Cemetery