Historic Decatur Cemetery

The oldest known publicly owned burial ground in metro Atlanta, the Decatur Cemetery is believed to predate the city´s 1823 incorporation. The first written record is an 1852 act of the legislature providing &quotCommissioners for the Decatur Burial Ground&quot. Expanded many times, the cemetery comprises 38 acres with over 20,000 grave sites. Its appearance dates from an 1881 landscaping plan which included well house, wrought iron fencing, and architectural details of Stone Mountain granite. The 7.5 acre &quotOld Cemetery&quot contains most 19th century internments and the historic &quotAfrican American&quot section. Monuments commemorate residents of all social strata, ethnic origins, and veterans of every American war. Here rest Col. Milton A Candler (1837 - 1909) legislator & congressman; Dr Thomas Holly Chivers (1806 - 1858), physician & poet; Mary A.H. Gay (1828 - 1918) author of &quotLife In Dixie During the War&quot the Hon. Charles Murphey (1799 - 1861), legislator, congressman, & delegate to the Secession Convention; Col. George Washington Scott (1829 - 1903), founder of Agnes Scott College; Benjamin F. Swanton (1807-1890), entrepreneur builder & the Swanton House; and many others who shaped the history the community.


Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, 1997

Plaque courtesy Lat34North.com.

Original page, with additional info, here.

Photo credit: Byron Hooks of Lat34North.com.