This is a famous cemetery, maybe because of its opulence and the fact the rich got to be buried by the river? Well in fact this is considered to be one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the entire U.S. Now I haven’t been to all the cemeteries in the U.S so I will have to take googles word for it. But I will say it is quite pretty with all the Oak trees and plants indigenous to the 1800s
There is a lot of famous people buried there. Among the military generals, poet Conrad Aiken, his poetry apparently is negative and a real Debbie Downer! (God bless Rachel Dratch from SNL!) Academy Award-winning lyricist Johnny Mercer who wrote Moon River which we can all agree is a famous song, and is the most visited grave in Savannah.
One grave that gets a lot of attention and is the most famous, is the grave of Little Gracie Watkins. Gracie died when she was only 6 years old. The iron gate around her tomb is often adorned with trinkets and toys left by guests of the cemetery.
Gracie was born in 1883 and moved to Savannah with her parents, as her father had been given the opportunity to manage one of the most popular hotels in Savannah, the luxurious Pulaski Hotel. From the moment they arrived, Little Gracie’s face become one of the most recognized in all of the hotel. The guests loved her, and she them. She would laugh and dance, sing and play for anyone willing to give her a moment of their time.
At 6 Gracie caught pneumonia, and passed just days before Easter. Their parents, obviously distraught had a beautiful stone carving erected in Bonaventure Cemetery by famed sculptor John Waltz; it was the exact liking to Gracie. Her parents eventually left to return to New England and are buried there, leaving poor Gracie all alone. For over 100 years now, Little Gracie has been a favourite stop for visitors. While not buried with her parents, one could argue she is not alone as everyone makes it a priority to visit her tomb and leave toys, or just say hello. I dare say, we are her family.
Some pictures of the Jewish part of the cemetery
SAVED BY THE BELL!! IN THE NICK OF TIME!! Don’t you always wonder where sayings come from?? Apparently the story goes that people were buried alive “back in the day”. So people bought the option of having bells when they bought their plot, “just in case” they were buried by accident. Charles Mills clearly believed that this could happen, as you can see his is quite elaborate. If you were buried alive, then you would ring the bell from underground and someone would hear and you would be dug up. Saved by the bell and frankly just in the nick of time!
Some random pics of the cemetery itself.
The tour was great and the cemetery was indeed beautiful. I would recommend you take it with Bonaventure Don. He is a historian and his whole family is buried here. He tells the story of the cemetery, the people and Savannah from historical research and facts. (There are a lot of bogus tours out there) He was great, talked fast, but great.
And the Oaks are just amazing.
