Scattered throughout the Monroe Street side of the cemetery are at least six gravestones, dating from the 1850's and 1860's, bearing the inscription "col'd" after the name. These stones, indicating a "colored" person, are extraordinary because they . . . — — Map (db m179735) HM
This map was drawn by John Caruthers in 1858, for the Diuguid Undertakers business, and was paid for by City Council. Although the grid system was not adhered to with any regularity, the large sections for specific racial or class groups (e.g. . . . — — Map (db m179650) HM
When African slaves came to America, they brought their culture with them, including their own languages, foods, styles of dress, and burial customs. This exhibit shows a few of the West African burial and funeral traditions practiced during the . . . — — Map (db m179784) HM
According to Court and City Directory records, mother and daughter, Agnes (1789-1874) and Lizzie (1833-1891) Langley ran a "Sporting House" on Commerce Street during the 19th century. Later, Lynchburg's "Red Light District" of World War II fame was . . . — — Map (db m156588) HM
Gamma Iota Omega, Lynchburg, VA
Omicron Sigma, University of Lynchburg
In memory of ΑΚΑ Founder Miss Marjorie Hill
Teacher, Morgan College, Lynchburg Campus 1908-1909
— — Map (db m179839) HM
Amelia Elizabeth Perry (1857-1932) was one of the first Negro teachers in the Lynchburg Public School system. She was first appointed in 1881 and was principal of the Polk Street School for 20 of her 33 years of service.
Among her many . . . — — Map (db m179734) HM
This ancient sugar maple tree had to be cut down in December 2003. It was estimated to be 120 years old, probably planted in the 1880's by Colonel Kirkwood Otey, a disabled Confederate veteran, and his wife Lucy Norvell Otey. The Oteys planted . . . — — Map (db m179775) HM
Dr. Augustus Lushington, veterinarian, practiced in Lynchburg for nearly four decades. A native of Trinidad, he attended Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania, where in 1897 he became one of the first Black men in the U.S. to earn a . . . — — Map (db m179840) HM
Blind Billy (died 1856) was a beloved street musician. He led parades and played for balls and parties in the private homes of Lynchburg citizens. "He could render his notes as sharp as would made a soldier do or die…or so soft and sweet as to . . . — — Map (db m179677) HM
Within the massive stone wall enclosure in the far southeastern corner is the grave of Bransford Vawner. His home is still standing at 409 Polk Street, a half-block from here. "He was elegant in appearance, graceful in manner and brilliant in . . . — — Map (db m179666) HM
This unique gravemarker is one of only two barrel-vaulted brick tombs in the Cemetery. The vault is filled with dirt, and the true grave is several feet below ground level. The identity of the person buried here is unknown. Based on the tomb's . . . — — Map (db m179760) HM
The first official caretaker of the cemetery was hired by the City of Lynchburg in 1866. He was paid $100 a year, and was only responsible for the care of the Confederate section. Over the years the role of the caretaker expanded to include . . . — — Map (db m74093) HM
This chapel was modeled after the 1880 Ivy Chapel Union Church in Bedford County. Most of the construction materials and furnishings were salvaged from the demolition of the c. 1870 Hermon Methodist Church at Oakville in Appomattox County. The bell . . . — — Map (db m74040) HM
The cast-iron pitcher was made by Glamorgan foundry of Lynchburg and given to the city in October 1890 for use at the College Hill Reservoir. Shortly after installation, the local newspaper praised the pitcher as “a handsome and striking . . . — — Map (db m74068) HM
In memory of the Confederate Soldiers who died of smallpox in the hospitals of Lynchburg during the War between the States. C. S. A. — — Map (db m156559) WM
On October 16, 1876, a tragic “false alarm” panic at the old Court Street Baptist Church resulted in the deaths of eight people attending a wedding reception there. One of these young women, Maria Wilson, age 17, is buried nearby. . . . — — Map (db m74055) HM
A week before the city of Lynchburg was to be invaded by 18,000 Union troops, the city lay vulnerable, unprotected by Confederate forces.
Brigadier General Francis T. Nicholls, a double amputee, who had recovered in a Lynchburg hospital, . . . — — Map (db m74052) HM
Daniel Butler (1874-1942) was a "scholar, orator, poet, politician and a leader of his people." In 1898 he staged a very colorful campaign on the Republican ticket for the 6th District Congressional seat, but lost to Major Peter J. Otey. He . . . — — Map (db m179742) HM
Pastor of Court Street Baptist Church, 1883-1896
Led the Split Congregation and Founded
Eighth Street Baptist Church, 1898-1911
First President of Virginia Theological Seminary and College, 1888-1890
Dr. . . . — — Map (db m179672) HM
In memory of Eleanor Custis Lewis Carter 1800-1845 wife of Henry Brown Jr. and wife of John H. Patteson M.D. great-niece of George Washington — — Map (db m156590) HM
Elizabeth Gavino Hubert Lushington (1873-1929) was born in Antigua and came to the United States as a ward of Bishop Hubert, a minister of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church in New York City. In 1890 she married Augustus Nathaniel . . . — — Map (db m179740) HM
Buried throughout the cemetery are hundreds of European immigrants who came to Lynchburg and the surrounding counties, ca. 1820-1920. They sailed to America seeking economic opportunity and refuge from war and famine, from countries including . . . — — Map (db m179732) HM
Close by is a row of four matching tombstones for the sons of J.L. and Susan Marks: "Willie", "Guy", "Johnnie", and "Jimmie", who died during the years 1867 to 1877. It was not unusual for whole families of children to be lost to the ravages of . . . — — Map (db m179651) HM
A Project Sponsored by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy and the Southern Memorial Association
Special thanks to the following people, who contributed to the research and design of this exhibit:
James Deetz • . . . — — Map (db m74094) HM
The dates beneath each carver’s name represent the span of his gravestones in the cemetery.
The Fieldstone Carver
First Gravestone Carver in Lynchburg
1811-1849
The fieldstone carver is the oldest professional carver of . . . — — Map (db m74095) HM
These "seriation" graphs show which gravestone styles and materials were most popular in a given decade in the Lynchburg City Cemetery.
The graphs also suggest how gravestone fashion and public tastes have changed over time, since the . . . — — Map (db m179785) HM
This museum tells the story of the care of the cemetery's grounds and gravemarkers over the past 200 years. On display is an elegant horse-drawn hearse used by Lynchburg's W.D. Diuguid Funeral Directors in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. A simple . . . — — Map (db m74037) HM
Nearby is interred the remains of a
Revolutionary War Soldier
Henry Holdcroft
Norvell
Born Jan. 1759 - Died Feb. 20, 1847
Sergeant, 1st. Virginia Infantry Regt. — — Map (db m179668) HM WM
Hermon Methodist Church was established in c.1870 in Appomattox County, Virginia. The church was named for the biblical Mount Hermon. It was located east of Route 24 on what is now property of the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. A . . . — — Map (db m74064) HM
1898 Station built by Chesapeake & Ohio Railway for $366.59, based on C&O “Standard Station No. 2” design.
1929 C&O Railway made the Station a non-agency station (without an agent) and discontinued its telegraph office. . . . — — Map (db m74076) HM
Acer saccharin
"Sugar Maple"
Great-granddaughter of
Lucy Mina Norvell Otey
Granddaughter of
Colonel Kirkwood Otey, CSA
and
Lucy Dabney Norvell Otey
President of the Southern Memorial Association, . . . — — Map (db m179774) HM WM
This plaque is lovingly dedicated to the memory of Sawney Early, Sr., and Malinda Speece, two noble souls who bravely endured the horrific hardships of slavery. Our prayer is that the sins of the past may never be repeated, as we remember those . . . — — Map (db m179739) HM
Near here ran the line of inner defences located by Gen. D. H. Hill, June, 1864. He had been sent from Petersburg by Gen. Beauregard to assist Gen. Breckinridge then in command. On Gen. Early’s arrival, troops were moved to the outer work. — — Map (db m15539) HM
This cast-iron fence, now surrounding the Earley Memorial Shrub Garden, originally enclosed College Hill Reservoir, located only a few blocks away on Park Ave. It was installed there in 1878 when the city had outgrown the old Clay Street Reservoir. . . . — — Map (db m74066) HM
Buried midway across the graveyard to the west is Israel Snead, who served as a Tobacco Inspector in the town of Lynchburg from 1815-1839. At this time in Virginia, 90% of tobacco was inspected in Richmond, Petersburg, or Lynchburg. He worked at . . . — — Map (db m179683) HM
Ivy Chapel Union Church was built in I880 on Coffee Road in Bedford County, Virginia. The chapel was named for nearby Ivy Creek. It was known as a “union church” because it served as a house of worship for Baptist, Methodist, and . . . — — Map (db m74065) HM
Jacob Eschbach Yoder (22 Feb. 1838-15 Apr. 1905), reared a Mennonite in Pennsylvania, came to Lynchburg after the Civil War to teach former slaves in the Freedmen's Bureau's Camp Davis School. Following Reconstruction, Yoder served as supervising . . . — — Map (db m74007) HM
In the far corner of the cemetery near the exit is a small gravemarker inscribed "Unknown White Man Drowned in James River June 1, 1891"
"About noon… a wretched and emaciated stranger apparently in the last stages of consumption, ended his . . . — — Map (db m179663) HM
In the Owens family enclosure towards the East are buried Jane and Owen Owens. They lived in the Miller-Claytor House when it was on the corner of 8th and Church Streets. Here they established the first circulating library in Lynchburg, making . . . — — Map (db m179676) HM
These eloquent words appeared in an editorial in the Lynchburg News at the time of her death:
"A superior cook, perfect in serving dinner for special occasions, and a laundress who did exquisite work, comparable to a . . . — — Map (db m179755) HM
John (1810-1889) and Rachel (1836-1885) were mulattoes who had been born slaves in Virginia. Sold by their original master to pay debts, they were purchased by an Episcopal minister who married them and baptized their children. The minister freed . . . — — Map (db m179737) HM
Joseph Parker was a Confederate veteran of the Civil War. He was one of the original enlistees in the 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, better known as Mosby's Partisan Rangers. It was John Singleton Mosby, most trusted scout of Confederate . . . — — Map (db m179675) HM
Josiah Holbrook was the founder of the Lyceum Movement in America. He died as a result of a fall into Blackwater Creek while on a geological excursion. Assembling in haste, the only mourners were the schoolboys who had been his faithful . . . — — Map (db m179685) HM
Julia Whiteley Branch (c. 1850-1937) was a respected midwife and beloved nurse in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The families she attended were among those prominent in the development of Lynchburg and include Sydnor, . . . — — Map (db m179779) HM
Daughter
Winnie Branch
Winnie was the mother of
Dr. Charles Spurgeon Johnson
(1893-1956)
He was the first Negro President of Fisk University (1946-1956), represented the President of the United States on commissions in . . . — — Map (db m179780) HM
Life…
Hundreds of people buried in this cemetery were employed by the railroad industry. The railroad’s contributions to Lynchburg’s economy were extraordinary, and it was a major employer in the city between 1850 and 1920. Railroads . . . — — Map (db m74082) HM
The unsung and frequently unappreciated heroes of the Confederacy were the Southern women who worked in hospitals. Mrs. Lucy Mina Otey, age 60 and a recent widow who eventually lost three sons in the Civil War, formed a corps of 500 Lynchburg women, . . . — — Map (db m74050) HM
Lynchburg was known as “Tobacco Town” before the Civil War, with its 70 thriving tobacco businesses and numerous warehouses. It was also a railroad hub, the terminus of three railroads. Early in the Civil War, many of the warehouses were . . . — — Map (db m74049) HM
This map shows Lynchburg during the Civil War Battle of Lynchburg, June 1864. The “Public Burying Ground,” also known as the Old Methodist Cemetery or Old City Cemetery, was located at the edge of town.
By 1860 three major . . . — — Map (db m74077) HM
Lynchburg’s hospital center was staffed with over 50 military surgeons reporting for duty from all parts of the Confederacy.
The War Department appointed Lynchburg physician, William Otway Owen, as Surgeon-in-Charge of Lynchburg’s large medical . . . — — Map (db m74051) HM
Near this spot on the afternoon of August 16, 1830, John M. Jones was hanged in Lynchburg’s first public execution. In May of 1829, Jones, a Lynchburg slaveowner, had killed George Hamilton on the James River waterfront in a dispute over Jones’s . . . — — Map (db m155539) HM
This three piece marble column adorned the front of the First National Bank building, Tenth and Main Streets. It was built 1908-09, P. Thornton Marye, architect. When the building was completely remodeled in 1976-77 all marble was replaced by a . . . — — Map (db m156584) HM
Cabell Street Methodist Church
William Amos Laughon (minister, 1885-1889)
Centenary United Methodist Church
(Third Street Methodist Church
Robert F. Hening (trustee, steward, leader of singing, 1840s-80s) • . . . — — Map (db m179829) HM
This old burying ground, established in 1806, is where most of Lynchburg's African Americans were laid to rest in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As many as 75% of the estimated 20,000 people buried here are African-American.
This . . . — — Map (db m74025) HM
This 1929 map of the boundaries of the Old City Cemetery is the only known record available to locate graves “within the walls” in the older section of the cemetery. Even today no records exist for grave locations throughout the cemetery other . . . — — Map (db m74027) HM
“With a graveyard on one side, quartermaster’s glanders stable on the other, and smallpox hospital in the middle, one (is) reminded of the mortality of man.” “A Confederate Surgeon’s Story,” Confederate Veteran, 1931, John . . . — — Map (db m155505) HM
Old City Cemetery, also known as the Methodist Cemetery, was established as a public burial ground in 1806 on land donated by John Lynch, founder of Lynchburg. Mayors and other prominent civic leaders, along with the city's indigent and . . . — — Map (db m74011) HM
This 1840’s white frame building was the medical office of Dr. John Jay Terrell. It was moved here in 1987 from Rock Castle Farm in Campbell County and has been restored to recreate medical science in the era of 1860 to 1900. These exhibits . . . — — Map (db m74038) HM
“Frank Trigg came into this world a slave and was buried a retired college president.” He was born in 1850 at the Governor's Mansion in Richmond, as his parents, Sarah and Frank Sr., served Governor John B. Floyd. At age 13 he lost an . . . — — Map (db m74060) HM
(panel 1) "The work of removing the bodies of Federal soldiers, who died here during the war, was commenced on yesterday. Their remains will be taken from this place to City Point for re-interment." Lynchburg Daily Virginian Saturday, . . . — — Map (db m156593) HM
In this area are buried five soldiers who fought in the American Revolution 1776-1783:
Two of them, the Duffel brothers, are buried on the East side, near the fence:
James (1759-1835) enlisted in the Continental . . . — — Map (db m179670) HM
Private Richard Burke •
First Lieutenant William Daniel, Sr •
Private Edward Duffell •
Corporate James Duffell •
Private Reuben George •
Lieutenant Francis Gray •
Private Daniel Mann •
Sergeant James Moseley •
Sergeant Henry H . . . — — Map (db m179667) HM WM
"Death of a Worthy Colored Man. — A very worthy and respectable colored man named Samuel Brice, residing on Twelfth Street, died yesterday morning, aged 55 years. The deceased bore a good character, and was well thought of in the community. At . . . — — Map (db m179772) HM
Silas Green was born into slavery around the year 1845 on a plantation in Franklin County, Virginia. According to local legend, soon after the beginning of the Civil War, Green voluntarily enrolled in the Confederate army. His owner considered him . . . — — Map (db m74059) HM
Sinister Activities had been rumored in 1897, but great alarm spread among both Negro and White citizens when it was discovered that the body of a young woman, Ella Jamieson, supposed to be buried in Potter's Field, was instead being shipped to . . . — — Map (db m74061) HM
This Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Station was in use at Stapleton in Amherst County, Virginia, from 1898 until 1937. It is the only remaining C&O “Standard Station” of its size and style.
In 1999-2001 the badly-deteriorated Station was . . . — — Map (db m74036) HM
Originally located on a street corner in downtown Lynchburg and later moved to Riverside Park, the trough was piped to receive constant gravity-fed water which filled and overflowed at one end. When the Pest House occupied this site, a watering . . . — — Map (db m179833) HM
These two large hand carved stones fit together to form a well cap which was the traditional well cover in use in the 1800s in Lynchburg. This one was brought here from the site of a house (now demolished) at 1714 Elm Street, high on a bluff . . . — — Map (db m156594) HM
Symbolism is very evident in many aspects of 19th century mourning. The carving on most of the older gravestones throughout this 200-year-old graveyard includes typical symbols of death: a drooping rose, weeping willow trees, a shroud-draped . . . — — Map (db m179664) HM
For over 180 years the search for the treasure left by Thomas Jefferson Beale has fascinated treasure hunters far and wide. It has never been found and the three part code has not been deciphered. For a period of time in the mid 1900's the . . . — — Map (db m179652) HM
These roses have reached their final resting place! Originally, they were in the rose collection of nationally recognized rosarian Carl Porter Cato (1913-1996) of Lynchburg.
Through many years, he had salvaged cuttings or entire plants from . . . — — Map (db m74092) HM
This memorial arch marking the entrance to the Confederate Section was built in 1925 by the Southern Memorial Association. Lynchburg architect S. Preston Craighill designed the arch and specified "...good, clean rubble stone, with concrete center . . . — — Map (db m156586) HM WM
In this area are buried over 2200 Confederate soldiers from fourteen states, most of whom died in Lynchburg’s numerous military hospitals during the Civil War. From the first burial on May 19, 1861, until the last on September 19, 1868, undertaker . . . — — Map (db m155506) HM
In the dell toward the east is the Ronald V. Dolan Memorial Dovecote. A dovecote, or pigeon house, was a common and functional part of life in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Until the mid-1900's a dovecote stood not far from the Chapel, on . . . — — Map (db m179827) HM
These apple trees are antique varieties which are significant in the history of the State of Virginia as well as in apple propagation and development. They continue to be valued today for their hardiness, longevity and delicious fruit.
Duval . . . — — Map (db m179826) HM
In this area are buried seven early Mayors of the City of Lynchburg:
Samuel Jordan Harrison (1768-1846), Mayor 1808, 1814, 1817
John Schoolfield (1766-1831), Mayor 1811
William Morgan (1769-1842), Mayor . . . — — Map (db m179671) HM
In October, 1995, Hillside Garden Club won the prestigious Common Wealth Award from the Garden Club of Virginia for a proposed Information Gatehouse and expanded entry for the Old City Cemetery. The old brick gates, which had been designed by J. . . . — — Map (db m156587) HM
This historic brick wall is all that remains of the Cemetery's original enclosure, which was built in sections beginning in 1827, and extended almost one mile in length.
Most of the wall was demolished by the City of Lynchburg as it . . . — — Map (db m74058) HM
Horses and mules were essential to the operation of the Civil War, and bass numbers of animals were needed. Lynchburg, one of the four quartermaster depots for the Confederacy, was supplying General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. In . . . — — Map (db m74062) HM
Horses and mules were essential to the operation of the Civil War, and vast numbers of animals were needed. Lynchburg, one of the four quartermaster depots for the Confederacy, was supplying General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. In . . . — — Map (db m179832) HM
Shortly after this Veterans' Bench was completed, the following letter was received by Mrs. John H. Lewis, president of the Southern Memorial Association.
Lynchburg, Va., Dec. 22, 1931.
Mrs. John H. Lewis,
Lynchburg, . . . — — Map (db m179776) HM WM
Nearby are ten fieldstones marking the graves of members of the allied Whitlow and Bradley families, buried in their family graveyard between 1850 and 1925, and re-interred here in the Old City Cemetery in 1998.
The old family burying ground . . . — — Map (db m179825) HM
Uncle Sawney (died 1839) was the legendary ferryman of Lynch's Ferry, which crossed the James River near the present Ninth Street Hill.
Judging by Senator John Warwick Daniel's remarks in his Lynchburg Centennial Address in 1886, Uncle . . . — — Map (db m179758) HM
There are many thousands more people buried in this cemetery than there are existing tombstones. Records are not reliable and the location of graves is often speculative. Family records are pieced together from oral history and newspaper . . . — — Map (db m179756) HM
Veterans of
World War I
Buried in the Old City Cemetery
William Harrison Brooks, 1897-1918, Co. L, 330 Regiment Infantry, 82 Division; killed in action on the Meuse River, France •
Henry Brown, 1894-1949, Private, 510 Engineer . . . — — Map (db m179786) HM WM
Virginia M. Cabell Randolph (circa 1872-1962) was an early Negro educator in Lynchburg Public Schools, teaching for 30 years at Jackson Street Elementary School. After her retirement, she founded the Women's Community Club in 1933, which . . . — — Map (db m179679) HM
Among the many prominent early graduates of this institution are three ministers, all from classes circa 1904, who are buried nearby within a few hundred feet of each other. Their pastorates, however, were in Baptist churches across the United . . . — — Map (db m156591) HM
War of 1812 veterans buried in this historic cemetery
Private Parham Adams •
Private James Bailey •
Private Willis Butler •
Private Henry A Christain •
Private Henry Clark •
Matross Charles Cobbs •
Private John Conner • . . . — — Map (db m179656) HM WM
During the First World War, many people across the country knew Lynchhurg as “Lunchburg.” The City earned this nickname because of its famous Red Cross Canteen Service to soldiers traveling by train through Lynchburg. From 1917 to I919, . . . — — Map (db m74069) HM
Billy Rhodes was a well-known tailor and clothing "renovator" in Lynchburg, who died in 1886 and was buried here among the indigent poor (in the city's Potter's Field).
Rhodes was beloved by all, and was remembered for his colorful and . . . — — Map (db m179662) HM
”The whole course of our ordinary life was changed. All our usual avocations were at an end, and a new life began for women.” —Susan Leigh Blackford (1835-1916) Lynchburg nurse during Civil War The Civil War, . . . — — Map (db m156600) HM
