The longer I am in Savannah, the more I find myself drawn to the older parts of town. As a matter of fact, the corner of Savannah that includes the Pirate’s House over to Reynold’s Square, is quickly becoming my favorite part of Savannah to explore. The houses over there, and this MAY be all in my head, seem to be older than many other areas of town. Of course there are older houses all over down-town, but there seems to be a larger concentration of them in that area…anyways…

Broken Headstones in Colonial Park Cemetery

When you enter Colonial Park Cemetery through the Archway, look to your left. At that end of the cemetery you will see a brick wall separating the cemetery from the Police Department. Along this wall you will find many broken headstones, many of them very old, dating to 1800 or older. The reason they are placed on the wall in this fashion is quite simple..they were damaged and/or otherwise falling apart. They are very interesting to read.

A quick little side-note about Colonial Park Cemetery. During the Civil War, when Union General Sherman invaded Savannah during his March to the Sea, he stopped in Savannah for some time. He sparred the vast majority of the city because of its beauty (another story for another time), however, not all of his soldiers shared his vision in not vandalizing the city. While staying in the city, many of Sherman’s soliders camped within Colonial Park Cemetery. While there, they defaced a number of gravestones. Now, we have people who lived to be well over a thousand years old and a few others…..Next time you are in Colonial Park Cemetery in Savannah, try to find them.

Colonial Park Cemetery, located at the corner of Abercorn Street and Oglethorpe Avenue,  in Savannah Georgia, is the oldest cemetery in Savannah. As a matter of fact, with a few exceptions almost every single person who died in Savannah between the founding of the city and July of 1853 is buried within the walls of Colonial Park Cemetery in Savannah. There are over 9000 people buried within the cemetery even though they are not nearly that many grave markers.

Inside of Colonial Park Cemetery you will find the graves of many prominent early Savannahians. In addition you can find many markers informing you of important events pertaining to Colonial Park Cemetery including the Yellow Fever outbreak which killed a large number of residents.

This photograph is the Gated Entrance for Colonial Park. As the markers on the gate state, this was made possible by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

My name is Tim Nealon and I am a photographer in Savannah Georgia. I specialize in Wedding Photography in Savannah. For more information please visit my website.