Longtime Macon historian makes his final Rose Hill Ramble on cemetery tour

Historic Rose Hill Cemetery turned the page on yet another chapter of its illustrious history Sunday as Jim Barfield, a retired history teacher known for his Rose Hill Ramble tour, capped a more than 30-year tenure with one final walk through the cemetery.

The rambles take place twice a year on the Sunday following Easter and the Sunday before Halloween. Barfield said the tours came from a love of researching and learning about Rose Hill Cemetery.

The cemetery was first established in 1840, according to Rose Hill’s website. It’s named for Simri Rose, a Macon horticulturist and newspaper publisher who designed the cemetery’s winding paths and terraced hills that roll towards the Ocmulgee River.

Rose Hill is home to numerous historic burials, including the graves of three Georgia governors, a Confederate section known as “Soldiers’ Square” and the Bond family tomb, which was featured on the back of the Allman Brothers’ eponymous first album.

“There’s just sort of an ambience about the place,” Barfield said. “It’s a naturally beautiful setting.”

While Barfield isn’t the creator of the Rose Hill Ramble tours, for many Maconites, he is the face of them.

The rambles began with Calder Willingham Payne, Barfield’s close friend and mentor, in the 1970s. Payne’s health began to decline, though, and he was unable to continue them. Barfield had just been elected president of the Middle Georgia Historic Society — now part of Historic Macon — when the organization’s executive director, Kitty Oliver, asked him to take over the tours in 1990.

Barfield’s early rambles were based mostly on notes and books Payne gave him documenting the cemetery’s key points. However, Barfield began conducting his own research at the Washington Memorial Library and made the tour his own.

Thirty-five years in, Barfield no longer has to research before each ramble, instead relying on a body of knowledge decades in the making. He sometimes adds things he stumbles upon in books or records, and even brings in material from ramblers who share personal stories and knowledge about people buried in the cemetery.

“Quite often, usually at the end of the ramble, people will come up to me and say, ‘Well, did you know this about that?’” Barfield said. “They’d tell me more things I can add to my repertoire.”

The tours have proved popular, with the Historic Society having to limit attendance to 50 people per tour. Barfield said prior to Historic Macon instituting a limit, he had days where more than 100 people would show up for a ramble.

But even that doesn’t keep curious guests away. On Sunday, a few stragglers joined Barfield’s final ramble without registering, all to be privy to his deep-rooted knowledge of Macon history.

“I’m very happy to share with people who are interested, and fortunately there have always been a good number of people who would come out for the rambles,” he said.

Barfield’s last ramble was especially personal, as he took guests to some of his favorite spots in the cemetery and past the graves of people and families he knew personally. He even stopped by the grave of Oliver and reminisced on her fiery spirit and dedication to Macon.

“When Kitty Oliver asked you to do something, you did it,” Barfield told guests.

Even though Barfield is stepping down, Historic Macon plans to carry on the Rose Hill Ramble. Barfield said he plans to pass the baton to Kathleen O’Neal, who has already led a ramble of her own.

Meanwhile, departing the Rose Hill Ramble doesn’t mean Barfield will be idle. He is currently working on documenting his own family history in a book to give to his nieces and nephews, a project he estimates could take seven years to a decade.

He said he may still give the occasional private tour to interested parties who go through Historic Macon, and plans to keep up with efforts to preserve Rose Hill, which he said represents an important site not just for Maconites, but for people across Georgia and the U.S.

“There are important people there who are not only important in making Georgia, but the country,” Barfield said.