The Story
Established around 1823, Decatur Cemetery is generally regarded as the oldest public burial ground in the Atlanta metropolitan area, predating the city of Atlanta itself. Spread across roughly 58 acres with more than 20,000 graves, its original 7.5-acre section holds nineteenth-century burials and a historic African American area, and the grounds were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. Among those interred are George Washington Scott, founder of Agnes Scott College, and physician-poet Thomas Holley Chivers, along with early DeKalb County settlers and veterans of every American war.
About this site
Decatur Cemetery is a cemetery in Decatur, DeKalb County. It is one of 34 cemeteries documented in DeKalb County, among 143 historic sites cataloged across the county on Georgia Roam.
The site sits at 33.7808, -84.2925 near Decatur. The nearest cataloged historic site is Wheeler’s Cav. at Decatur (historical marker), about 0.4 miles away. Others within a short drive include Baron DeKalb, Steatite Boulder, and DeKalb County.
This record is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
History
Established around 1823, Decatur Cemetery is generally regarded as the oldest public burial ground in the Atlanta metropolitan area, predating the city of Atlanta itself. Spread across roughly 58 acres with more than 20,000 graves, its original 7.5-acre section holds nineteenth-century burials and a historic African American area, and the grounds were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. Among those interred are George Washington Scott, founder of Agnes Scott College, and physician-poet Thomas Holley Chivers, along with early DeKalb County settlers and veterans of every American war.
Sources: georgiaencyclopedia.orgdecaturish.comexploregeorgia.org
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