Bonaventure Cemetery

Savannah, Georgia: On a bluff overlooking the Wilmington River lies one of the most peaceful locations in all of Savannah. Bonaventure Cemetery is not only the final resting place for many prominent Savannah natives, its oak trees and colorful flowers make it an oasis from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

The cemetery traces it’s roots back to 1771 when John Mullryne and Josiah Tattnall started the 600 acre Bonaventure Plantation. Three years later Mullryne started a family burial plot, the beginnings of the cemetery. Despite a brief change of hands in the Revolutionary War when the property was briefly seized, the plantation and cemetery remained in the family until being sold to Peter Wiltberger in 1846. Wiltberger transformed the property into the Evergreen Cemetery and declared it a public cemetery. The property was purchased by the City of Savannah in 1907 and was renamed the Bonaventure Cemetery. After efforts by the Bonaventure Historical Society, it earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. 

While Bonaventure Cemetery is not the oldest cemetery in Savannah, it is the largest. Over 100 acres in size, the cemetery is divided into twenty sections with several hundred burial plots in each section. These plots are the final resting place for many important residents including Governor Edward Telfair, Senator Josiah Tattnall, Confederate General Hugh Mercer, singer Johnny Mercer, poet Conrad Aiken and many more. Some of the more popular sections of the cemetery include the Jewish section including the holocaust memorial, the Confederate soldiers section and American Legion Field.

Bonaventure Cemetery even made a debut on the silver screen. It appeared in the movie “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” a movie directed by Clint Eastwood staring Kevin Spacey and John Cusak and based on a novel by John Berendt.

Today thousand of visitors take the drive out of the historic district to walk the paths of the cemetery. Some pay respects to those buried here, some come to observe the detailed sculptures that are located throughout the sprawling cemetery, others just come to take a walk in the beautifully manicured grounds blooming with colorful flowers under the ancient oak trees. There is so much to see here, it is worth the drive outside the historic district.

Bonaventure Cemetery is opened daily until 5pm. Admission to the cemetery is free and guided tours by the Historical Society are available on select days.

Click on the photo above to view my Bonaventure Cemetery photo gallery.