Magnolia Cemetery, Augusta

Married in her youth to the Confederacy To which she gave her all. She sleeps beneath the Stars and Bars And waits the last roll call.

We loved the beautiful old magnolias throughout the cemetery and were amazed to find so many gravestones of people who emigrated from Ireland. The large, elaborate headstones really grab your attention. I wish I knew more about the lives these people lived and how they died. Many were born in the late 1700's so the Augusta area was quite different back then - that's over 200 years ago! If you come to Augusta, don't miss this chance to be surrounded by history.

I know that all cemeteries are "historic" by their very nature, but Magnolia Cemetery (named for its trees) is over 200 years old...by today's standards, a very old cemetery. Pre Civil War with many, many graves dated before 1850. This place is rather large and you find your relatives and friends by street coordinates. My Garmin GPS has its streets on the mapping system. The cemetery closes the gates at 8:00 P.M. and during daylight savings time, you may have to hurry to get out of there before closing time (boo!). Besides the run of the mill usual cemetery inhabitants (normal deceased people), there is a Spanish American War section filled with Augusta soldiers. There is a full Civil War section filled with both Union and Confederate soldiers. There are seven Civil War Generals buried here. There are all sorts of famous people buried here besides the Generals: There are Augusta mayors, legislators, physicians, relatives, families, the list goes on. As one walks and/or drives thru the cemetery, one can piece together the history of one family or several and/or the history of the city thru the births and dates of the deceased...just like any cemetery. Augusta, Georgia has a glorious and storied history and Magnolia Cemetery is just one very historic place to experience some of it. I visit it often. I especially enjoy visiting six nuns, lined all in a row, all named Sister Mary, with different middle and last names, buried from 1904 to 1982. They are located at the right hand far away corner on the same side as the entrance (next to the wall) of the cemetery and no one seems to care or visit these poor servants of the lord. I am not catholic, but that does not matter. Most of these nuns died over 80 years ago. Perhaps if you get a chance to visit this historic and wonderful place, you will stop by and pay your respects to the Sister's Mary.

You cant help but love it there. The markers are beautiful, though some are so old you can no longer read them. If you take the time to really walk around and look, you can learn alot about the people that are there just from their headstone, like the 105 year old man with the cannon for the footstone. Some people may find it creepy and strange, but if you are really into history, it is perfect and peaceful.

even though the cemetary is beautiful, there are so many headstones and people buried there it just sends a shiver up my spine. some of my ancestors are buried here and one of them doesnt even have a headstone yet, he is not even in the same section with the rest of the family.

I just loved the cemetery. All the pretty grave stones and everything. A must see! One of the funnest (is funnest a word?) one of the funnest things to do in Augusta.