GA Visit to Atlanta's Oakland Cemetery

Chattahooch33

Sergeant Major
Annual Winner
Joined
Oct 4, 2013
Location
Cobb's Legion Country - Bowdon, Ga.
Every year for Easter my family goes to eat lunch at Mary Mac's in Atlanta then goes for a stroll through Oakland Cemetery. Oakland was founded in 1850 and became the official city cemetery, the original was near where Peachtree and W. Peachtree split in downtown. The graves there were moved to Oakland when it opened. Many of the founders of Atlanta are now in Oakland. During the war, the road the cemetery is on (Decatur St.) was called Fairground Street. Along the south of the road were open fields that became a series of tent hospitals. The hospitals were used fairly earlier and began being used in earnest after the fall of Chattanooga. It was a short distance from these cemeteries to Oakland, where many were buried. There are about 3,900 marked Confederates buried there from every state. In addition there are approximately 3000 unknowns buried in a green space with the Lion of Atlanta in the middle.
Oakland was used as city cemetery until 1884 when Westview (on the Ezra Church battlefield) opened along with Hollywood Cemetery to the northwest of town.
Oakland is the epitome of a Victorian cemetery. It was laid out and designed for picnics and strolling. Flowers, trees, bushes, fountains, and elaborate mausoleums and tombstones are abundant.


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General Clement Evans



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Thanks for the beautiful set of photos. Oakland is a treasure that is virtually unknown outside of Atlanta and little known even within the area. As close as it is to the capitol building, it was until fairly recently not a walking destination.
Now that downtown development has picked up and the Decatur St. corridor is thriving, more and more people are starting to discover this beautiful oasis of serenity still in the absolute "heart" of Atlanta.
 
Thanks for the beautiful set of photos. Oakland is a treasure that is virtually unknown outside of Atlanta and little known even within the area. As close as it is to the capitol building, it was until fairly recently not a walking destination.
Now that downtown development has picked up and the Decatur St. corridor is thriving, more and more people are starting to discover this beautiful oasis of serenity still in the absolute "heart" of Atlanta.
Very true. Yesterday there were more visitors there than I had ever seen before. You might even say it was "crowded".
 
It's just North of I-20 and it is well worth the stop.
 
And the Raiders
Great photos.
Margaret Mitchell is buried there.
Also, Bobby Jones (look for the golf balls left on his grave).
Thank you.
Also, the men from Andrew's Raiders (The Great Locomotive Chase) that were hung were hung just down the street from the Cemetery (look for the plaque on the South Wall of the Cemetery).
 
I had the opportunity to visit this cemetery last Tuesday. I was impressed with the Lion of the Confederacy statue but at the same time, it was a very sad experience. There are so many cemeteries around our country filled with unknown Union and Confederate soldiers. As my son and I stood at this grave site, I told my son, "No matter how you feel about the causes of the American Civil War, these graves are still filled with Americans."
 
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