Bonaventure Cemetery
Bonaventure Pixabay Public Domain
A public cemetery on the scenic bluff of the Wilmington River, Bonaventure Cemetery is Savannah’s largest featuring over 100-acres of grounds and over 150 years of history. Built in 1846, this beautiful Gothic setting is dripping with Spanish moss and local folklore, mostly due to the cemetery being immortalized in the famous novel Midnight in the Garden Of Good and Evil. One good look around will show you why this mystical place has captured the imagination of writers, poets, naturalists, photographers, and filmmakers for over 150 years
Bonaventure is part natural cathedral, part sculptural garden, and part beautiful burial ground on a patch of Savannah land that truly transcends time. This cemetery came about in the Victorian era when death was romanticized and ritualized, making these grounds a lush city for the dead. Among the buried, you will find military generals, poet Conrad Aiken, lyricist Johnny Mercer, and Georgia's first governor Ed Telfair. Stroll around observing the beautiful architecture, tree-lined roadways, notable interments, and unique sculpture and folklore on your own or opt-in for any available Bonaventure Cemetery tours. On these tours, a master storyteller will spend over two hours walking the grounds and telling you everything by just looking around. This is an excellent opportunity to immerse yourself into the essence of Savannah and learn some local and cultural history about the city and the cemetery you may not have known before.
