NRHP Reference # 97000459 Year built 1826 Added to NRHP 23 May 1997 | Area 24 ha Phone +1 404-378-4411 | |
 | ||
Location 229 Bell St., Decatur, Georgia Architect Scott, Robert et al.; Pauley, W.C. Address 229 Bell St, Decatur, GA 30030, USA Hours Open today · 8AM–6PMSunday8AM–6PMMonday8AM–6PMTuesday8AM–6PMWednesday8AM–6PMThursday8AM–6PMFriday8AM–6PMSaturday8AM–6PM Burials Andrew Sledd, Kenneth Carllile Similar Glenlake Park, Woodlands Garden, James R Hallford Stadium, Eddie's Attic, Georgia State Baseball | ||
00023
The Decatur Cemetery is a historic graveyard within the City of Decatur, Georgia.
Contents
Several headstones vandalized at decatur cemetery
History
The Decatur Cemetery is the oldest burial ground in the Atlanta metropolitan area, and it is believed to have been used even before Decatur's 1823 incorporation.
In 1852, an act by the local legislature created “Commissioners for the Decatur Burial Ground.” Numerous Civil War veterans were buried in the Decatur Cemetery, mostly in the 8-acre (3.2 ha) region now referred to as, "The Old Cemetery". The Cemetery's "Well House" was built in 1881.
Today
The Decatur Cemetery has expanded to 58 acres (23 ha) and contains well over 20,000 graves. A special section exists for cremated burials; the cemetery also contains a pond stocked with fish. This pond is also home to swans, ducks and turtles, and is a stopping place for Canada geese on migration. The cemetery is bordered by a several acre forest, which borders the Glennwood Estates neighborhood.
Features
The forested ravine east of the cemetery includes a newly completed pedestrian path that winds over a branch of Peachtree Creek. A small, but lovely waterfall is just south of the southern bridge.
At the southeast corner of the cemetery is found a rather surprising grove of giant bamboo, some with trunks over 20 cm in diameter. A short path leads through this grove to the end of the Ponce de Leon Court Historic District.
Glenlake Park
On the north, the cemetery is bordered by Glenlake Park, which can be accessed by a footpath.