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Colonial Park Cemetery
Colonial Park Cemetery was the second burial ground for the city. From 1750
to 1850, a hundred years of Savannah citizens were buried there and for the life
of this cemetery it was called the Old Brick Burial or Brick Wall Cemetery.
There was a two-foot wide, seven-foot tall brick wall that ran all the way around
it.
A portion of the original wall remains on the east side and it is covered with tombstones
that were knocked over by Federal troops bivouacked there while General Sherman
occupied the city toward the end of the Civil War.
The cemetery was closed because it was full. It doesn't look full now as there
are less than 600 markers, but it is full with over 12,000 documented burials.
In the south end of the six-acre graveyard - under the tennis courts and playground
- are mass burials from three yellow fever epidemics.
There are reports of how the Union Army did horrendous damage. The Yankees
pulled the bodies from the crypts, stole the gold teeth and jewelry, burned the
coffins for firewood and changed the dates on many of the stone markers.
When the occupation ended, the wooden gates were nailed shut and the cemetery sat
idle and in disrepair for many years. The wall was removed in 1896 and the
burial ground became an open promenade.
Colonial cemetery is a favorite spot for ghost hunters and ghost tours, as there
have been so many sightings of spirits. And, is it any wonder considering it's history? Bring your camera or recorder
and visit Colonial Park Cemetery.
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