Might Allman Brothers Band members one day be laid to rest together?

The hillside where brothers Duane and Gregg Allman are laid to rest within feet of one another overlooks Carnation Ridge above the Ocmulgee River in a picturesque setting that has, since Duane’s death nearly half a century ago, been a local point of interest.

In coming years, the siblings’ grave sites, now separated by a walkway and already a popular place for random visitors and Allman Brothers Band fans alike, could become an even more unique burial ground.

Plans are in the works to possibly erect fencing that would surround not only the graves of both brothers and late band member Berry Oakley, but to also make room for other performers in the group — perhaps Dickey Betts and Jaimoe Johanson — when they die.

Word is that the remains of drummer Butch Trucks, who died at 69 in January, and the Allmans’ mother, Geraldine, who died at 98 in 2015, could also be interred there.

Discussions about changes to the Rose Hill Cemetery setting have been in the works since, and perhaps before, Gregg Allman died in May.

Sam Kitchens, who as director of Macon-Bibb County’s Parks and Beautification Department is familiar with some of the possible alterations, said he is waiting to hear official word on what Gregg Allman’s family proposes.

The grave sites are private, and the county, though it does not pay for or perform any of the work involved, can make recommendations about enhancements and must sign off on major changes.

“I’m just waiting on somebody with authority to call me and say, ‘This is what we want. Can we do this?’” Kitchens said.

Kitchens said he himself would like to see Gregg Allman’s area mirror Duane Allman’s plot with a fence enclosing the sites either as one or separately.

“It would be great to have that all fenced in,” Kitchens said, adding that if all the band’s members were some day laid to rest there that it “would absolutely make that not only a historical cemetery but a destination cemetery.”

“We would get so many people coming to see that,” Kitchens said.

This story was originally published September 19, 2017 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Might Allman Brothers Band members one day be laid to rest together?."