Bonaventure Cemetery | Savannah, Georgia
330 Bonaventure Rd.Javascript must be enabled to view this map.
Many believe Bonaventure is the most beautiful cemetery in the world. The attractive plants, sweet smells, and beautiful views of the Wilmington River make for a peaceful final resting site-and a tranquil site to visit. Recently, it has received worldwide fame from being featured on the cover and in the text of writer John Berendt's hugely popular bestseller MIdnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Benches have been installed on the perimeter roadway to allow enjoyment of peaceful views of the golden marsh, or one can stroll the cemetery among the live oaks, red cedars, southern magnolias, and azaleas.
Gifted naturalist, explorer, and politician John Muir spent five days camping on the grounds in September of 1867 on his famous 1,000-mile walk from Louisville, Kentucky to Cedar Key, Florida. Down to his last 25 cents, he waited for funds from his brother at Bonaventure Cemetery, where he became impressed with the plant and animal communities he found. Muir was a Scotsman who went on to found the Sierra Club and influenced the US. Congress to establish Yosemite and Sequoia national parks, along with the national forest system. His words were posthumously published in the book Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf He wrote that he discovered at Bonaventure "one of the most impressive assemblages of animal and plant creatures I have ever met ... Bonaventure is called a graveyard, a town of the dead, but the few graves are powerless in such depth of life ... The rippling of living waters, the song of birds, the joyous confidence of flowers, the calm. undisturbed grandeur of the oaks, mark this place of graves as one of the Lord's most favored abodes of life and death."
Other famous people buried in the cemetery include the Noble Jones family descendants, the Tattnalls, Edward Telfair, song writer Johnny Mercer, poet Conrad Aiken (whose memorial is a bench overlooking the Wilmington River inscribed with "Cosmos Mariner, Destination Unknown"), and Danny Hansford of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil fame, Visitors who wander the cemetery in search of the enigmatic statue that graces the cover of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil are wasting their time. The Bird Girl, as it is called, was moved to the Savannah History Museum after the book and the statue became so popular.
Famous Civil War Confederate generals found here include Robert J. Anderson, who commanded cavalry under Wheeler in the Atlanta Campaign; Henry R. Jackson, who served in western Virginia and Georgia; Hugh Mercer, who commanded in the Atlanta Campai.gn; and Claudius C. Wilson, who commanded at Chickamauga and Chattanooga and died of disease in Ringgold 13 days after Missionary Ridge. Also buried here is Alexander R. Lawton, a Vilest Point graduate who was president of the Augusta and Savannah Railroad, and commanded the Lawton-Gordon-Evans brigade under Stonewall Jackson, considered to be one of the hardest fighting units in the Civil War. Wounded at Sharpsburg, he recovered to become the quartermaster of the Confederate Army until the end of the 'ivar. He later became president of the American Bar Association and was U.S. minister to Austria.
Bonaventure was first settled by an English colonel named John Mulryne, who came to Savannah from Charleston around 1760. He named it by combining the Italian words buana ventura, meaning "good fortune." His daughter married Josiah Tattnall, and to mark the event he planted avenues of live oaks in the form of a monogram combining the letters M and T. These Spanish-moss draped oaks, which so impressed John Muir, are still found in the cemetery today. The eighteenth century plantation home of Josiah and Mary Mulryne Tattnall no longer stands on the property, having burned to the ground. Mrs. Tattnall is believed to be the first buried at Bonaventure in 1794.
During the Revolutionary War, Savannah citizens were divided between their loyalties for England and America. Josiah, a Tory, wouldn't fight for either side, and he had Bonaventure confiscated by the local patriots. He and his two sons, John and Josiah Jr., left for England. John fought on the English side, but Josiah Jr. fought on the American side with Gen. Nathanael Greene. He distinguished himself so well that the state let him buy back Bonaventure. He eventually became a member of U.S. Congress and Governor of Georgia. When he died in 1804 at the age of 38, he was buried next to his wife in Bonaventure, leaving behind an orphaned son, Josiah Tattnall III, who was raised in England by his grandfather, the original Josiah Tattnall. The son returned to America and later joined the U.S. Navy. He felt a strong allegiance to England as well, and on one occasion he breached American neutrality by coming to the aid of the British fleet, which was fighting in Chinese waters. His famous defense when he was reprimanded was "blood is thicker than water;' which helped mend some of the bad feelings that remained between the British and Americans from the War of 1812. Josiah III went on to serve as commodore for the Confederate Navy during the Civil War, and was involved in the naval defense of Savannah and the burning of the ironclad C.S.S. Virginia or Merrimack. Josiah III was buried in the family plot at Bonaventure.
Bonaventure became a cemetery in 1850, when Captain Peter Wiltberger, owner of the Pulaski Hotel, purchased the property. In July 1907, the property transferred to the City of Savannah, which owns it today. Since Berendt's book, many city tours have included a tour of Bonaventure on their must-see list.
Directions
From the city of Savannah where Bull Street and US 80 (Victory Drive) meet, go approximately 3 miles east on US 80 (Victory Drive) to Thunderbolt. Take a left on Whatley Avenue. Go approximately 0.75 mile on Whatley, which becomes Bonaventure Road, to the entrance of the cemetery.
Activities
Historic touring, nature hiking.
Facilities
Museum, bookstore, bathrooms, hiking trails, handicapped-accessible facilities, boat ramp, picnic area.
Dates
Monday through Friday 8-5. Saturday noon-2. Sunday 2-4.
Fees
None.
