Concrete sculpture of a tree by Dionicio Rodriguez

Elmwood Cemetery and Mausoleum (also known as Elm Leaf Cemetery) is a cemetery established in 1900 (as Elm Leaf Cemetery) in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

northwest of Homewood by a group of

fraternal organizations A fraternity or fraternal organization is an organized society of men associated together in an environment of companionship and brotherhood; dedicated to the intellectual, physical, and social development of its members. Service clubs, lineage so ...

. It was renamed in 1906 and gradually eclipsed Oak Hill Cemetery as the most prominent burial place in the city. In 1900 it consisted of 40 acres, adding 40 more acres in 1904, 80 more acres in 1909, 80 more acres in 1910, 43 acres in 1924, and reached 286 acres in 1928.

Background

In the late 1930s, Mexican sculptor

Dionicio Rodriguez Dionicio Rodríguez (1891–1955) was a Mexican-born artist and architect whose work can be seen in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Texas, as well as Washington, D.C., and Mexico City. His work is noted ...

created a number of large concrete sculptures for the cemetery, including a palm tree, a bridge, and a fallen log 'carved' into a bench. This cemetery was whites only until 1970 when the family of a black soldier who died in Vietnam won a lawsuit in federal court to force the cemetery to allow their son to be buried there. It has a chapel funeral home at 800 Dennison Avenue Southwest which was established in 1962 by the Lackey family for Johns-Ridout's Mortuary. The cemetery is part of the Dignity Memorial chain. This cemetery is roughly bounded by Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, Dennison Avenue Southwest, 14th Place Southwest, and railroad tracks. The main entrance is directly across from 6th Avenue Southwest. There is a secondary entrance on Martin Luther King Drive just behind the Johns-Ridout's Mortuary. It is made up of about fifty large blocks, of varying shapes and sizes, each of which contains up to several hundred lots; each lot contains as many as eight or ten burial plots. As of early 2017, the cemetery contained about 130,000 burials. Notable sections include at least two areas dedicated to newborns and infants, with brass plaques that say "BABYLAND" on them. There are also four

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

s. Elmwood's ''mausoleum chapel'' would be used as a venue for closed-casket funerals if a body has not been embalmed. Its funeral home chapel would be used for open-casket funerals or closed-casket funerals whenever a body has been embalmed for both the visitation and service. The body of

16th Street Baptist Church bombing The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing was a terrorist bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963. The bombing was committed by a white supremacist terrorist group. Four members of a local Ku Klux ...

victim, Denise McNair was exhumed from Shadow Lawn Memorial Park to this cemetery by her parents in August 2007.

Notable burials

* Alfred Norman West (1883–1916) – Reverend * Truman H. Aldrich (1848–1932) – U. S. Representative 1896–1897 * William W. Allen (1835–1894) – Confederate Major General * Mary Anderson (1866–1953) – inventor of the windshield wiper * Donald Beatty (1900–1980) – aviator, explorer and inventor * Sydney J. Bowie (1865–1928) – U. S. Representative 1901–1907 * Paul W. "Bear" Bryant (1913–1983) – University of Alabama football coach * Anna Lee "Boots" Carroll (1930–2017) – American theater, film & television actress * Ben Chapman (1908–1993) – Major League baseball player and manager * B. B. Comer (1848–1927) – Governor of Alabama 1907–1911, U. S. Senator 1920 * Father James Coyle (1873–1921) – assassinated priest of St. Paul's church *

George Gordon Crawford George Gordon Crawford (August 24, 1869 – March 20, 1936) was an American industrialist. Early life and education Crawford was born to George Gilmore and Margaret Reed Howard Crawford on August 24, 1869, and raised on a plantation in Madiso ...

(1869–1936) – Industrialist and second graduate of

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

Russell McWhortor Cunningham Russell McWhortor Cunningham (August 25, 1855 – June 6, 1921) was an American Democratic politician who was the acting Governor of Alabama from April 25, 1904, to March 5, 1905. He was lieutenant governor when Governor William D. Jelks fell ...

(1855–1921) – Governor of Alabama 1904–1905 *

Spud Davis Virgil Lawrence "Spud" Davis (December 20, 1904 – August 14, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Ci ...

(1904–1984) – professional baseball player and manager * Henry T. DeBardeleben (1874–1948) – Coal magnate *

William Henry Denson William Henry Denson (March 4, 1846 – September 26, 1906) was a U.S. Representative from Alabama. Born in Uchee, Alabama, Denson attended the common schools and the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. Denson left the University of Alabama ...

(1846–1906) – U. S. Representative 1893–1895 *

Eddie Dent Elliott Estill Dent (December 8, 1887 in Baltimore, Maryland – November 25, 1974 in Birmingham, Alabama) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He pitched from 1909 to 1912 for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He won a total of only four games as a maj ...

(1887–1974) – professional baseball player *

Joe Domnanovich Joseph John Domnanovich (March 21, 1919 – January 20, 2009) was an American professional football player who was a center for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Boston Yanks (1946–1948) and the New York Bulldogs/Yank ...

(1919–2009) – professional football player * Henry Eugene "Red" Erwin, Sr. (1921–2002) – World War II veteran –

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient *

William Dudley Geer Dr. William Dudley "Billy" Geer (December 25, 1922 - October 3, 2003), also known as W. D. Geer, was a Christian educator who served as the first Dean of the School of Business at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. His research interests fo ...

(1922–2003) – first Dean of the School of Business at

Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...

* Milton L. Grafman (1907–1995) – Former Rabbi o
Temple Emanuel
and civil rights figure * John Grenier (1930–2007) – Alabama Republican Party chairman * Sam Hairston (1920–1997) – Major League baseball player *

Art Hanes Arthur J. Hanes (October 19, 1916 – May 8, 1997) was mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, between 1961 and 1963, a tumultuous time that saw the city become a focal point in the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement during the Birmingham campaign. Hanes, wh ...

(1916–1997) – Mayor of Birmingham 1961–1963 *

Lum Harris Chalmer Luman Harris (January 17, 1915 – November 11, 1996) was an American right-handed pitcher, coach, manager, and scout in Major League Baseball. Born in New Castle, Alabama, Harris began his playing career with the Atlanta Crackers of ...

(1915–1996) – professional baseball manager (Houston Astros & Atlanta Braves) *

Erskine Hawkins Erskine Ramsay Hawkins (July 26, 1914 – November 11, 1993) was an American trumpeter and big band leader from Birmingham, Alabama, dubbed "The 20th Century Gabriel". He is best remembered for composing the jazz standard " Tuxedo Junction" ( ...

(1914–1993) – Musician, trumpeter, composer *

Cliff Holman Cliff Holman (born James Clifton Holman Jr., June 29, 1929, in Mobile, Alabama – September 8, 2008, in Albertville, Alabama), best known as "Cousin Cliff," was a well-known television personality in the Birmingham, Alabama, market. As Cousin Cli ...

(1929–2008) – Birmingham television celebrity *

George Huddleston George Huddleston (November 11, 1869 – February 29, 1960) was a U.S. Representative from Alabama, father of George Huddleston, Jr. Life and career Huddleston was born on a farm near Lebanon, Tennessee, the son of Nancy Emeline (Sherrill) ...

(1869–1960) – U. S. Representative 1915–1937 * George Huddleston, Jr. (1920–1971) – U. S. Representative 1955–1965 * Patti Ruffner Jacobs (1875–1935) – social reformer *

Elizabeth Johnston Evans Johnston Elizabeth Johnston Evans Johnston (May 3, 1851 – December 20, 1934) was an American philanthropist, social worker, and clubwoman. She served as president of the board of control of the Alabama boys industrial school, and was the vice-regent of t ...

(1851-1934) - philanthropist, social worker, and clubwoman * Joseph Forney Johnston (1843–1913) – Governor of Alabama 1896–1900, U. S. Senator 1907–1913 *

Eddie Kendricks Edward James Kendrick (December 17, 1939 – October 5, 1992), better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American tenor singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temp ...

(1939–1992) – singer, co-founder of

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

* Larry Langford (1946–2019) – Alabama politician * Dee Miles (1909–1976) – Major League baseball player * John P. Newsome (1893–1961) – U. S. Representative 1943–1945 * Louise O. Charlton (1889–1967) – Federal Commissioner and judge, 1924–1965 *

Luther Patrick Luther Patrick (January 23, 1894 – May 26, 1957) was a U.S. Representative from Alabama. Early life Born near Decatur, Alabama, Patrick attended the local public schools, Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge, and Purdue University, Lafa ...

(1894–1957) – U. S. Representative 1937–1943 *

John C. Persons John Cecil Persons (May 9, 1888 – December 22, 1974) was a lawyer, banker, and highly decorated officer in the United States Army and Alabama National Guard, who is most noted as the commanding general of the 31st Infantry Division during Worl ...

(1888-1974) - lawyer and U.S. Major General *

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

(1914–1993) – Jazz musician *

Erskine Ramsay Erskine Ramsay (September 24, 1864 – August 15, 1953) was an Alabama industrialist and financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest ...

(1864–1953) – Inventor, engineer, philanthropist * Rufus N. Rhodes (1856–1910) – founder of the ''

Birmingham News ''The Birmingham News'' was the principal newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States in the latter half of the 20th century and the first quarter of the 21st. The paper was owned by Advance Publications and was a daily newspaper from its f ...

'' * Bo Russell (1916–1997) – professional football player *

Ed Salem Edward Joseph Salem (August 28, 1928 – December 21, 2001) was an American football quarterback and defensive back. He was a 1950 College Football All-America Team selection from the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and played one season fo ...

(1928–2001) – professional football player and restaurateur * Albert Lee Smith, Jr. (1931–1997) –

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Alabama's 6th congressional district Alabama's 6th congressional district is a United States congressional district in Alabama that elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives. It is composed of the wealthier portions of Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham, ...

from 1981 to 1983 * Fred Sington (1910–1998) – professional football player *

Jesse F. Stallings Jesse Francis Stallings (April 4, 1856 – March 18, 1928) was an American lawyer and politician who served four terms as a U.S. Representative from Alabama from 1893 to 1901. Early life and education Born near Manningham, Alabama, to Reuben ...

(1856–1928) – U. S. Representative 1893–1901 *

Pat Sullivan (American football) Patrick Joseph Sullivan (January 18, 1950 – December 1, 2019) was an American professional football player and college coach. An All-America quarterback for the Auburn Tigers, he won the Heisman Trophy in 1971 and then played six seasons in th ...

(1950-2019) - Auburn football player and coach. His ashes were sprinkled in this cemetery's cremation garden. *

Oscar Underwood Oscar Wilder Underwood (May 6, 1862 – January 25, 1929) was an United States of America, American lawyer and politician from Alabama, and also a candidate for President of the United States in 1912 and 1924. He was the first formally designa ...

(1862–1929) – U. S. Senator 1915–1927 *

Dixie Walker Fred E. "Dixie" Walker (September 24, 1910 – May 17, 1982) was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout and minor league manager. He played as a right fielder in Major League Baseball from 1931 to 1949. Although Walker was a five ...

(1887–1965), Fred "Dixie" Walker's father *

(1911–1982) – Major League baseball player * Frank S. White (1847–1922) – U. S. Senator 1914–1915 *

Abraham Woods Abraham Lincoln Woods Jr. (October 7, 1928 – November 7, 2008) was an American civil rights leader, who helped coordinate the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and stood behind Martin Luther King Jr. during his historic "I Have a Dre ...

(1928–2008) – minister and civil rights activist * Yam Yaryan (1892–1964) – Major League baseball player

References

External links

* * {{Find a Grave cemetery Cemeteries in Birmingham, Alabama 1900 establishments in Alabama Cemeteries established in the 1900s