Westview Cemetery

Westview Cemetery, located in Atlanta, Georgia, is the largest civilian cemetery in the Southeastern United States, comprising more than 582 acres (2.36 km2), 50% of which is undeveloped. (Georgia National Cemetery, for military veterans and their families, covers 775 acres.) Westview includes the graves of more than 100,000 people.[1]

Westview Cemetery
Westview Cemetery Abbey in Distance
Details
EstablishedOctober of 1884
Location
1680 Westview Drive, SW
Coordinates33.746162°N 84.443142°W / 33.746162; -84.443142
TypeNon-profit
Size582 acres (2.36 km2)
No. of graves100,000+
Websitewestviewcemetery.com
Find a GraveWestview Cemetery

History

The land that would become Westview Cemetery was the site of a portion of the Battle of Ezra Church, a Civil War battle.[2] The cemetery was established in 1884[3] on Atlanta's west side when Oakland Cemetery was mostly filled out. Over 582 acres (2.36 km2) were purchased by a private corporation,[4] headed by E. P. McBurney.[5] The main gate is one of the oldest standing structures in Atlanta. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.

Structures

Interior of Florence Candler Chapel, Westview Cemetery
  • Westview Abbey - a mausoleum and chapel, was built in 1943 and houses 11,444 entombments and space to hold cremated remains. 27 stained glass panels adorn the Romanesque chapel and depicts Jesus Christ's life from nativity through crucifixion and resurrection. A mural entitled Faith, Hope and Charity depicts four Christian parables in its artwork.
  • The Receiving Tomb - was built in 1888 and once held bodies waiting to be processed and buried. Wagons, and in later years vehicles, carrying the deceased could not get down the muddy cemetery roads during heavy rains. The marble and brick receiving tomb was also used to house an excess of bodies during the Spanish influenza outbreak in 1918.[6]
  • The Water Tower - was built in 1921 and may be mistaken for a battlefield look-out point but was only used to hold water. The top of the tower is an example of a crenellated adornment, making it look more like a castle than the roof of a water tower.
  • The Confederate Memorial - was erected in 1889 by The Confederate Veterans Association of Fulton County to honor its fallen soldiers. The monument features a stone soldier holding a flag and standing on top of small cannonballs. Two Cohorn mortars lie just beyond a circle of Confederate graves and mark a path leading to the historic monument.

Notable interments

View of grave stones in cemetery

Former interments

Atlanta University President Edmund Asa Ware was buried in a plot that straddled the then-segregated white and African-American sections of the cemetery in 1885. His body was moved to a memorial on the A.U. campus nine years later.[43] Atlanta mayor Ivan Allen Jr. was buried at Westview when he died in 2003,[44] but he was reinterred at Oakland Cemetery in 2009.[45]

Location

The cemetery is located at 1680 Westview Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30310. Its telephone number is (404) 755-6611. The office is open Monday-Friday 9-5 and Saturday 9:30-2 and is closed on Sunday. Gates are open from 8 am until 5:30 pm every day except Christmas and Thanksgiving. The site is a fifteen-minute walk from the West Lake MARTA station.

See also

References

Notes

  1. Westview Home, Westview Cemetery, retrieved 2009-01-28
  2. "Battle of Ezra Church, Westview Cemetery"
  3. The History of Westview, Westview Cemetery, archived from the original on January 3, 2012, retrieved January 28, 2009
  4. Clemmons 2018, p. 28.
  5. Clemmons 2018, p. 29.
  6. "Atlanta, Georgia and the 1918-1919 Influenza Epidemic | The American Influenza Epidemic of 1918: A Digital Encyclopedia". www.influenzaarchive.org. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  7. Clemmons 2018, p. 159.
  8. James Charles Jacob Bagby, Sr at Find a Grave
  9. Robert Schley “Bob/Jumbo” Barrett at Find a Grave
  10. Clemmons 2018, p. 161.
  11. United States Congress. "BIGBY, John Summerfield, (1832 - 1898) (id: B000452)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved September 11, 2018."BIGBY, John Summerfield, (1832 - 1898)". Find a Grave. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  12. Clemmons 2018, p. 162.
  13. United States Congress. "COHEN, John Sanford (id: C000597)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved September 11, 2018."COHEN, John Sanford". Find a Grave. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  14. Clemmons 2018, p. 163.
  15. John Owen Donaldson at Find a Grave
  16. Clemmons 2018, p. 164.
  17. Rylands, Traci. "Atlanta's Other Golf Great: The Mysterious Death of J. Douglas Edgar". Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  18. Vernon “The Viper” Forrest at Find a Grave
  19. "Y. F. Freeman Dies; Movie Executive". Atlanta Constitution. 7 February 1969. p. 41. Retrieved September 10, 2018 via newspapers.com.
  20. Clemmons 2018, p. 166.
  21. Clemmons 2018, p. 167.
  22. Clemmons 2018, p. 150.
  23. "Daniel Hickey Dies; Columnist and Poet". Atlanta Constitution. July 20, 1976. p. 2C. Retrieved September 10, 2018 via Newspapers.com.
  24. Donald Lee Hollowell at Find a Grave
  25. Capt Evan Park Howell at Find a Grave
  26. Clemmons 2018, p. 169.
  27. Clemmons 2018, p. 170.
  28. Gardner, Sarah E. (May 9, 2003). "Helen Dortch Longstreet (1863-1962)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  29. Clemmons 2018, p. 171.
  30. Benjamin Mays at Find a Grave
  31. Jim Mitchell at Find a Grave
  32. "William A. Paschal". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. May 26, 2003. Retrieved September 10, 2018 via Legacy.com.
  33. Clemmons 2018, p. 173.
  34. Clemmons 2018, p. 174.
  35. Nick Rogers at Find a Grave
  36. "J.R. Smith Services Today; Southern Airways Co-Pilot". The Atlanta Constitution. November 18, 1970. p. 9B via newspapers.com.
  37. Clemmons 2018, p. 175.
  38. Clemmons 2018, p. 176.
  39. Clemmons 2018, p. 177.
  40. Suggs, Ernie; Stafford, Leon (July 23, 2020). "We loved Dr. C.T. Vivian". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on July 25, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  41. United States Congress. "WHELCHEL, Benjamin Frank (id: W000343)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved September 11, 2018."WHELCHEL, Benjamin Frank". Find a Grave. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  42. "About the Foundation - Robert W. Woodruff". Robert W. Woodruff Foundation. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  43. Clemmons 2018, p. 34.
  44. Bruner, Tasgola Karla (July 7, 2003). "Ivan Allen Jr. 1911-2003: Voice of unity warmly recalled". Atlanta Constitution. pp. B1–B2. Retrieved September 11, 2018 via Newspapers.com. Allen's funeral will be at 2 p.m. today at the First Presbyterian Church....Burial will follow at Westview Cemetery.
  45. Sweeney, Kate (March 2, 2014). "The cemetery's cemetery". Atlanta Constitution. pp. E1, E10. Archived from the original on September 11, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2018. For a long time there was a dispute over the number of Atlanta mayors buried at Oakland....Former Mayor Ivan Allen was moved here from another cemetery in 2009.

Sources

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