Rose Hill Cemetery is a 50-acre cemetery located on the banks of the

Ocmulgee River The Ocmulgee River () is a western tributary of the Altamaha River, approximately 255 mi (410 km) long, in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the westernmost major tributary of the Altamaha.

in Macon,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, that opened in 1840. Simri Rose, a horticulturist and designer of the cemetery, was instrumental in the planning of the city of Macon and planned Rose Hill Cemetery in return for being able to choose his own burial plot. The cemetery is named in his honor. Rose Hill Cemetery was a hangout and

artistic inspiration Inspiration (from the Latin ''inspirare'', meaning "to breathe into") is an unconscious burst of creativity in a literary, musical, or visual art and other artistic endeavours. The concept has origins in both Hellenism and Hebraism. The Greek ...

for

the Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guita ...

during their early years. The Allman Brothers' slide guitarist

Duane Allman Howard Duane Allman (November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971) was an American rock guitarist, session musician, and the founder and original leader of the Allman Brothers Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame i ...

, keyboardist and vocalist

Gregg Allman Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman ...

, drummer

Butch Trucks Claude Hudson "Butch" Trucks (May 11, 1947 – January 24, 2017) was an American drummer. He was best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Trucks was born ...

and bassist

Berry Oakley Raymond Berry Oakley III (April 4, 1948 – November 11, 1972) was an American bassist and one of the founding members of the Allman Brothers Band, known for long melodic bass runs. He is ranked number 46 on the ''Bass Player'' magazine's list ...

are interred here. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1973.

Construction

Simri Rose, Ambrose Baber, Levi Eckley, and R. W. Willis were commissioned in 1836 to find a place for what would become Macon's third cemetery (Fort Hill Cemetery and Old City Cemetery were the first and second, respectively.) The committee decided to establish the cemetery outside of the city because the land there was less expensive. As a horticulturist, Simri Rose was personally involved in deciding the location and type of trees and flowers. Rose Hill Cemetery was originally designed to be a

garden 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 ...

with landscaping, similar to Mount Auburn Cemetery, as it was intended to function as both a cemetery and a local park. Dirt paths through the cemetery were intentionally wide enough to allow easy access for carriages. Two bridges were built across ravines to allow easy access to other parts of the cemetery.

Cemetery sections

Rose Hill Cemetery, Ross lot, 1880s - DPLA - b9e544d969cd9c160ee45bf0b46846f8

The cemetery has one Catholic section for Saint Joseph's Catholic Church and seven Jewish sections: Hebrew Lot, Jew Lot, New Hebrew Lot, Polish Lot, Russian Lot, Sherah Israel, and William Wolff. Oak Ridge, a section within Rose Hill Cemetery that was created in 1851, is the final resting place for an unknown number of slaves. Soldier's Square holds around 600 Confederate troops.

Current condition

Many factors contribute to the cemetery's change in appearance. Age and exposure to the elements weathered marble statues and tombstones. Most of the dirt paths were paved between 1927 and 1960. Overcrowding contributed to the change in appearance not only because more people were taking up more room, but because digging new graves would damage the roots of nearby trees. A tornado on March 13, 1954, also uprooted many trees. The addition of a railroad in 1881 cut off access to the Ocmulgee River and

Interstate 16 Interstate 16 (I-16), also known as Jim Gillis Historic Savannah Parkway, is an east–west Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Georgia. It carries the hidden designation of State Route 404 (SR 404) for its ...

added traffic noise. The cemetery is part of a self-guided walking tour of Macon and is the site of the semi-annual Rose Hill Ramble sponsored by the Middle Georgia Historical Society.

Notable interments

* Clifford Anderson *

Augustus Octavius Bacon Augustus Octavius Bacon (October 20, 1839February 14, 1914) was a Confederate soldier, segregationist, and U.S. politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Georgia, becoming the first Senator to be directly el ...

* Charles Lafayette Bartlett * John Birch *

James Henderson Blount James Henderson Blount (September 12, 1837 – March 8, 1903) was an American statesman, soldier and congressman from Georgia. He opposed the annexation of Hawaii in 1893 in his investigation into the American involvement in the political revolut ...

* Peter J. Bracken – engineer of stolen The Texas locomotive in the

Great Locomotive Chase The Great Locomotive Chase (also known as Andrews' Raid or the Mitchel Raid) was a military raid that occurred April 12, 1862, in northern Georgia during the American Civil War. Volunteers from the Union Army, led by civilian scout James J. And ...

* Alfred H. Colquitt * Philip Cook * Alfred H. Colquitt * Harry Stillwell Edwards * Eugenia Tucker Fitzgerald * Samuel Francis Gove * LeRoy Wiley Gresham *

Thomas Hardeman Jr. Thomas Hardeman Jr. (January 12, 1825 – March 6, 1891) was an American politician, lawyer and soldier. Early years Hardeman was born in Eatonton, Georgia, Eatonton, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and graduated from Emory University, Emory ...

* Nathaniel Edwin Harris * James Jackson – US Congressman, judge advocate in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, and a chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. * Henry Graybill Lamar * John Basil Lamar * Buck Melton –

Mayor of Macon, Georgia The Mayor of Macon-Bibb County is the highest elected official in the consolidated city-county government of Macon and Bibb County, Georgia. The county was established in 1822, while the city was incorporated in 1823. Heads of the city were know ...

(1975–79) * Elizabeth Reed Napier (1845–1935) – inspiration for the Allman Brothers song "

In Memory of Elizabeth Reed "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" is an instrumental composition by the American group The Allman Brothers Band. It first appeared on their second studio album, ''Idlewild South'' (1970), released on Capricorn Records. The jazz-influenced piece was w ...

" pp. 42–43. Duane Allman and Berry Oakley Graves, Macon, GA, US

Eugenius Aristides Nisbet Eugenius Aristides Nisbet (December 7, 1803 – March 18, 1871) was an American politician, jurist, and lawyer. Biography Nisbet was born near Union Point, Georgia. He attended the Powellton Academy in Hancock County, Georgia from 1815 to 1817, ...

* Oliver H. Prince * J. Neel Reid * Simri Rose – Rose Hill Cemetery's architect and designer * George Washington Bonaparte Towns * Edward D. Tracy *

Blanton Winship Blanton C. Winship (November 23, 1869 – October 9, 1947) was an American military lawyer and veteran of both the Spanish–American War and World War I. During his career, he served both as Judge Advocate General of the United States Army and ...

–

Major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, Judge Advocate General (1931–33), Governor of Puerto Rico (February 5th 1934- June 25th 1939)

Gallery

File:Simri Rose's grave.jpg, Simri Rose's monument File:Rose Hill Cemetery Jone Family Plot.jpg, The Jones family plot File:Robert Birdsong monument.jpg, Robert Birdsong's monument File:Rose Hill Cemetery family plot.jpg, Ross/West family plot File:Rose Hill Cemetery, Bond family monument, circa 1877 - DPLA - 287eba95345e3450951f6cb09149bdc1.jpg, alt=Bond family monument, circa 1877, Bond family monument, circa 1877 File:Rose Hill Cemetery, Central Avenue from gate, circa 1877 - DPLA - deae43930a2b6359cf4c0abd0f1441ab.jpg, Central Avenue from gate, circ 1877 File:Rose Hill Cemetery, Confederate section, circa 1877 - DPLA - 244ed65652784314f1bbb3656f3f2b48.jpg, Rose Hill Cemetery, Confederate section, circa 1877 File:Rose Hill Cemetery, Central Avenue, circa 1877 - DPLA - 44e3d97b7bda807da7a44e009c11feca.jpg, Rose Hill Cemetery from Central Ave., circa 1877 File:Rose Hill Cemetery, circa 1877 - DPLA - 54c8fcca5a175d6dac363577ffc2d204.jpg, Rose Hill Cemetery, circa 1877 File:Rose Hill Cemetery, visitors' spring, circa 1877 - DPLA - 08edbf1d4cec84ac811c583a2e9f4ce8.jpg, Rose Hill Cemetery, visitors' spring, circa 1877

References

External links

Official History of Rose Hill Cemetery
* * {{National Register of Historic Places, state=collapsed 1840 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Landmarks in Macon, Georgia Protected areas of Bibb County, Georgia Geography of Macon, Georgia Tourist attractions in Macon, Georgia National Register of Historic Places in Bibb County, Georgia