This Milledgeville cemetery is considered one of the most beautiful in the US
Nature and history are not always the first things that come to mind at cemeteries, but a recent study shows that Middle Georgia is home to one of America’s “most beautiful hidden cemeteries.”
Memory Hill Cemetery, in Milledgeville, ranked No. 48 among the most beautiful U.S. cemeteries in a study by ChoiceMutual.com. Choice Mutual is an insurance agency specializing in funeral insurance for seniors, according to its website.
The cemetery holds historical significance because of those who are buried there, and the land where the cemetery sits was originally one of the four public squares in the Milledgeville town plan of 1803, according to Visit Milledgeville. It later became known as Cemetery Square.
“Many people associated with Milledgeville and Georgia history, such as L.Q.C. Lamar, Congressman Carl Vinson, and Flannery O’Connor, as well as early Georgia governors, legislators, college presidents, enslaved people, and soldiers, are buried here,” Visit Milledgeville says on its website.
Visitors to the cemetery can do a self-guided walking tour.
Two other Georgia cemeteries were included in the list of most beautiful cemeteries, which featured 140 in total. Myrtle Hill Cemetery in Rome ranked No. 18, and Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta ranked No. 55.
Choice Mutual made note of how often Southern cemeteries showed up in the list.
“For example, Charleston’s Magnolia Cemetery, shaded by oaks and magnolias, feels worlds away from the busy city,” Choice Mutual said. “Also, in New Orleans, the above-ground tombs add a Gothic edge.”
The top 10 ‘hidden gem’ cemeteries in the US, in order
- Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, New York
- Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord Massachussetts
- Holualoa Japanese Cemetery, Holualoa, Big Island, Hawaii
- Kalaupapa Settlement Cemetery, Molokai, Hawaii
- Oahu Cemetery, Honolulu, Hawaii
- Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland
- Evergreen Cemetery, Santa Cruz, California
- Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn
- Lakeview Cemetery, Mackinaw City, Michigan
- Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, South Carolina