Rose Hill Cemetery, Macon Georgia

Gregg Allman was laid to rest in Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon last Saturday, near to the graves of Duane Allman and Berry Oakley. The band hung out at Rose Hill in their early days, and Dicky Betts titled his song, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, after the name on a headstone here. If you are heading down I-75 on your way to Florida or the Georgia coast, take a break and visit Rose Hill. IMHO it's the grandest cemetery in Georgia, and as beautiful as any park in the state.

Old Roswell Cemetery - Roswell, Georgia

Old Roswell Cemetery of one of three historic cemeteries, all dating from the 1840's, located in the town of Roswell, GA. Originally on the grounds of Mt. Carmel Methodist Church, it opened to the public in 1859, when the church moved to another location nearby.

Cedar Lane at Central State Hospital - Milledgeville, Georgia

Central State Hospital, built in 1842 and originally called the Georgia State Lunatic Asylum, was at one time supposedly the largest institution of its kind in the world. This little cemetery contains grave markers for a small fraction of the patients that died at the facility during its 150+ years of operation.

"In 1872 the hospital possessed a ratio of 112 patients per physician, a number that would not improve for almost a century. Central State underwent a dramatic increase in patient population during the second half of the century, when local communities began sending unwanted or problematic residents to the asylum, regardless of their diagnoses." - Georgia Encyclopedia

Madison City Cemetery

The old City Cemetery in Madison is one of my favorite cemeteries in Georgia. If I'm ever nearby I plan some extra time to visit. It's worth a trip in itself.

Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago

Rosehill, with 350 acres, is Chicago's largest cemetery. Like nearby Graceland, Rosehill is an iconic example of the Rural cemetery. It is the final resting place for many Chicagoans, both prominent and unknown. When the old City Cemetery in what is now Lincoln Park was relocated, most of the graves where moved here. Use the phrase "final resting place" with a caveat.

More from Colon Cemetery in Havana

Isola di San Michele - The Cemetery Island of Venice

Cassville Cemetery

Cassville Cemetery - Cassville, Georgia

Colon Cemetery in Havana

Colon Cemetery in Havana, Cuba is one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world. And it is respectfully and carefully maintained. The remains of Christopher Columbus were once interred on these grounds until Spain claimed rights to them.

Colon Cemetery in Havana

West Hill Cemetery - Dalton GA

West Hill is situated on a ridge in the town of Dalton. When the Confederate General Joe Johnston took over the command of the Army of Tennessee in April 1864 he held a grand review of the army on this ridge. There are over 400 unknown solders, mostly Confederate but a few Union too, buried here, most killed in the three day battle of Chickamauga, Only Gettysburg was deadlier. The Atlanta Campaign began when Johnston retreated from Dalton and began defending positions between here and Atlanta. Now West Hill is one of Dalton's most beautiful green spaces.

The Irish Plot in Middletown, Rhode Island

I missed this small cemetery in my many visits to Rhode Island. A reason for another trip!
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/irish-lot

Zion Cemetery - White GA

Someone is still placing flowers at the grave of this Confederate solder who died in 1896. A relative? Son or Daughter of the Confederacy? I'm am always surprised at the care that is provided to so many tiny remote graveyards in rural areas.

I love the chiaroscuro effects provided by trees and gravestones on bright winter day.

Hebron Cemetery - Concord Georgia

Metairie Cemetery - New Orleans

Minerva Benevolent Society Mausoleum

Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans, LA

Something a little bit spooky as we approach Halloween.

Myrtle Hill - Rome Georgia

Situated on a hill over looking the city of Rome Georgia, Myrtle Hill is a great example of the Rural Cemetery and one of the most picturesque in the state.

Oconee Hill Cemetery - Athens, Georgia

From Oconee Hill in Athens. A small but excellent examples of the rural cemetery style in Georgia.

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 - New Orleans

The magnificent cemeteries of New Orleans. Lafayette No. 1 is in the French Quarter across the street from Commanders Palace.

Oak Hill Cemetery - Cartervsille, Georgia

Looks like this cemetery has been in use continuously for 150+ years, expanding whenever more space was needed.

Decoration Day

You don't hear the phrase Decoration Day much anymore, even in the South, but it was the original name for Memorial Day. Still, there is a long and ongoing tradition in the South to tend and decorate the graves of Civil War casualties and veterans. Does that mean there are those who think the Civil War was a just and noble cause? There are still some that do, but for many this is simply about paying respect to one's ancestors and honoring those that died in a war unlike any ever fought by the USA, one that took place in our own back yard. I don't romanticize those times, and no one can ignore the horrendous injustice of slavery, but there is a pull we all have to pay our respects to the dead, especially those who died in combat. We all hope that years form now there will be those that honor us, trying to remember what was good about us and forgiving what was not.

Cassville Cemetery - Cassville Georgia