Originally the site of John Mullryne’s Bonaventure Plantation, Bonaventure Cemetery has a history linked inextricably to that of Savannah and Georgia. Governor Josiah Tattnall was an early owner, and upon his death, his son, also named Josiah, came to own the land. In 1846, 70 acres of the plantation were sold to Peter Wiltberger for use as a cemetery. He operated it as a for-profit burial ground known as Evergreen Cemetery from 1868 until 1907, when the city of Savannah purchased much of the property and changed the name to Bonaventure Cemetery, in honor of its original incarnation.

It has long inspired locals and tourists alike, and a poignant description comes from Sierra Club founder and iconic American naturalist, John Muir. In his book A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf, Muir wrote a chapter entitled “Camping in the Tombs” to detail his week-long visit to Bonaventure in 1867:

“Part of the grounds was cultivated and planted with live-oak, about a hundred years ago, by a wealthy gentleman who had his country residence here But much the greater part is undisturbed. Even those spots which are disordered by art, Nature is ever at work to reclaim, and to make them look as if the foot of man had never known them. Only a small plot of ground is occupied with graves and the old mansion is in ruins. The most conspicuous glory of Bonaventure is its noble avenue of live-oaks. They are the most magnificent planted trees I have ever seen, about fifty feet high and perhaps three or four feet in diameter, with broad spreading leafy heads. The main branches reach out horizontally until they come together over the driveway, embowering it throughout its entire length, while each branch is adorned like a garden with ferns, flowers, grasses, and dwarf palmettos. But of all the plants of these curious tree-gardens the most striking and characteristic is the so-called Long Moss. It drapes all the branches from top to bottom, hanging in long silvery-gray skeins, reaching a length of not less than eight or ten feet, and when slowly waving in the wind they produce a solemn funereal effect singularly impressive. There are also thousands of smaller trees and clustered bushes, covered almost from sight in the glorious brightness of their own light. The place is half surrounded by the salt marshes and islands of the river, their reeds and sedges making a delightful fringe. Many bald eagles roost among the trees along the side of the marsh. Their screams are heard every morning, joined with the noise of crows and the songs of countless warblers, hidden deep in their dwellings of leafy bowers. Large flocks of butterflies, flies, all kinds of happy insects, seem to be in a perfect fever of joy and sportive gladness. The whole place seems like a center of life. The dead do not reign there alone. Bonaventure to me is one of the most impressive assemblages of animal and plant creatures I ever met. I was fresh from the Western prairies, the garden-like openings of Wisconsin, the beech and maple and oak woods of Indiana and Kentucky, the dark mysterious Savannah cypress forests; but never since I was allowed to walk the woods have I found so impressive a company of trees as the tillandsia-draped oaks of Bonaventure. I gazed awe-stricken as one new-arrived from another world. Bonaventure is called a graveyard, a town of the dead, but the few graves are powerless in such a depth of life. The rippling of living waters, the song of birds, the joyous confidence of flowers, the calm, undisturbable grandeur of the oaks, mark this place of graves as one of the Lord’s most favored abodes of life and light.”

http://www.bonaventurehistorical.org/

]]> http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2012/01/26/bonaventure-cemetery-savannah-2/feed/ 3 drtrd Savannah GA Bonaventure Cemtery Oaks Spanish Moss Victorian Headstones Historic Picture Image Photo Copyright Brian Brown Photographer Vanishing South Georgia USA 2012 http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2012/01/26/bonaventure-cemetery-savannah/ http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2012/01/26/bonaventure-cemetery-savannah/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:16:16 +0000 Brian Brown http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/?p=19909 ]]>

Bonaventure is among the most visited places in Savannah.

]]> http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2012/01/26/view-of-wilmington-river-from-bonaventure-cemetery/feed/ 0 drtrd Wilmington River Bluff Bonaventure Picture Image Photo Copyright Brian Brown Photographer Vanishing South Georgia USA 2012 http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2012/01/26/papas-sweetheart-our-darling-boy/ http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2012/01/26/papas-sweetheart-our-darling-boy/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:49:51 +0000 Brian Brown http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/?p=19900 ]]>

Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah

Theodore I. Prendergast (25 February 1902-9 May 1909)

Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah

Alexander Robert Lawton (5 November 1818-2 July 1896). Mr. Lawton was a President of the Augusta and Savannah Railroad, Brigadier General in the Confederate Army, and a President of the American Bar Association. The sculpture was created in 1898 by Rafaello Romanelli in Florence.

Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah

Alexander Robert Lawton (5 November 1818-2 July 1896)

Mr. Lawton was a President of the Augusta and Savannah Railroad, Brigadier General in the Confederate Army, and a President of the American Bar Association. The sculpture was created in 1898 by Rafaello Romanelli in Florence.

Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah

Corinne Elliott Lawton was the eldest daughter of Alexander Robert Lawton. The sculpture of Corinne (21 September 1846-24 January 24 1877) was created by Benedetto Civiletti in 1879  in Sicily The pedestal is inscribed with the words: “Allured to brighter worlds and led the way.” Corinne’s sad eyes seem to tell the story of her life; she died the night before her wedding.

]]> http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2012/01/26/corinne-elliott-lawton-sculpture/feed/ 0 drtrd Bonaventure Cemetery Savannah GA Civiletti Sculpture of Corinne Elliott Lawton Overlooking Wilmington River Picture Image Photo Copyright Brian Brown Photographer Vanishing South Georgia USA 2012 http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2012/01/26/corinne-elliott-lawton-sculpture-detail/ http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2012/01/26/corinne-elliott-lawton-sculpture-detail/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:14:44 +0000 Brian Brown http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/?p=19877 ]]>

Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah

Corinne Elliott Lawton was the eldest daughter of Alexander Robert Lawton. The sculpture of Corinne (21 September 1846-24 January 24 1877) was created by Benedetto Civiletti in 1879  in Sicily The pedestal is inscribed with the words: “Allured to brighter worlds and led the way.” Corinne’s sad eyes seem to tell the story of her life; she died the night before her wedding.

Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah

This iconic marble sculpture adorns the final resting place of George Johnson Baldwin (18 August 1856-4 March 1927) and

Lucy Harvie Baldwin (25 March 1857-18 February 1923). The alcove surrounding it contains the verse from St. Mark 10:15:

“Verily I Say Unto You, Whosoever Shall Not Receive the Kingdom of God As a Little Child, He Shall Not Enter Therein.”

In Christian iconography the seashell, and more specifically the scallop, is a symbol for Baptism. This is also often referred to simply as “The Shell Girl”, a term I also prefer.

Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah

This iconic marble sculpture adorns the final resting place of George Johnson Baldwin (18 August 1856-4 March 1927) and

Lucy Harvie Baldwin (25 March 1857-18 February 1923). The alcove surrounding it contains the verse from St. Mark 10:15:

“Verily I Say Unto You, Whosoever Shall Not Receive the Kingdom of God As a Little Child, He Shall Not Enter Therein.”