Greenwich Cemetery is a

rural cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries. They were typically built one to five ...

located on a scenic bluff of the Wilmington River, east of

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

. It stands on the site of the former

Greenwich Plantation Greenwich Plantation (also known as Greenwich Place) was a plantation founded in colonial Savannah, Province of Georgia, in 1765, on land now occupied by Greenwich Cemetery. The site was , including a plantation house (completed in 1900) and priv ...

and became an addition to

Bonaventure Cemetery Bonaventure Cemetery is a rural cemetery located on a scenic bluff of the Wilmington River, east of Savannah, Georgia. The cemetery became famous when it was featured in the 1994 novel ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'' by John Berendt, ...

(itself on the former grounds of

Bonaventure Plantation Bonaventure Plantation was a plantation founded in colonial Savannah, Province of Georgia, on land now occupied by Greenwich and Bonaventure cemeteries. The site was , including a plantation house and private cemetery, located on the Wilmington ...

) in 1933,Greenwich Cemetery Park
– EMC Engineering, Inc. and it is the newest of the city's four municipal cemeteries. The entrance to the cemetery, located at 330 Bonaventure Road, is shared with Bonaventure Cemetery. Immediately inside the gates is the large and ornate Gaston Tomb.

History

In 1896, long after Greenwich Plantation was demolished, naval stores magnate Spencer P. Shotter purchased the land and built a Beaux-Arts mansion and extensive gardens. The house and grounds were used in several

silent films A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, whe ...

(including '' Stolen Moments'') before the house burned to the ground in 1923."Before Midnight, Bonaventure and the Bird Girl Exhibition Guide"
–

Telfair Museums Telfair Museums, in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia, was the first public art museum in the Southern United States. Founded through the bequest of Mary Telfair (1791–1875), a prominent local citizen, and operated by the Georgia Histo ...

The City of Savannah purchased the land in 1933. With it came fourteen of Shotter's statues, which the city placed into storage. They remained stored until 1965, at which point they were loaned to Savannah's

. In 2020, the city approved the sale of sixteen of the statues, with a collective price tag of $400,000. One item was kept because it was part of a set of two, the other part being on display at Telfair.

Greenwich Park

A 3.5-acre section of the cemetery has been made into a

passive park An urban wild is a remnant of a natural ecosystem found in the midst of an otherwise highly developed urban area. Utility Urban wilds, particularly those of several acres or more, are often intact ecological systems that can provide essential e ...

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

area for visitors.

Notable burials

* Danny Hansford (1960–1981) * Cecelia Seiler (1933–2014), wife of

Sonny Seiler Frank W. Seiler (born February 20, 1933) is a retired trial attorney from Savannah, Georgia, who had a leading role in the true-crime book ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil''. He is also the owner of the University of Georgia Bulldogs liv ...

and co-owner of Uga"Cecelia Seiler, ‘mom of Uga,’ dies in Savannah"
– ''

Athens Banner-Herald The ''Athens Banner-Herald'' is a daily newspaper with less than 20,000 circulation located in Athens, Georgia, USA, and owned by Gannett. The paper has a Sunday special and publishes online under the name ''Online Athens''. It has been through ...

'', June 5, 2014

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Greenwich Cemetery
– SavannahGA.gov
Greenwich Cemetery Savannah, GA
– YouTube, April 1, 2012 Cemeteries in Savannah, Georgia Protected areas of Chatham County, Georgia Rural cemeteries 1933 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)