Things to do nearColonial Park Cemetery

Established around 1750, Colonial Park Cemetery served as Savannah's primary burial ground for more than a century. It predates the American Revolution and holds the graves of some of Georgia's most prominent early figures, including Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Walking the grounds, visitors encounter tabby-walled enclosures, family plots, and rows of sandstone markers whose carvings have softened with age. A large mass grave near the center memorializes the hundreds of residents lost to yellow fever epidemics in the late eighteenth century, giving the site a somber weight that lingers.

During the Civil War, Union troops under General Sherman used the cemetery as an encampment, and some headstones bear altered inscriptions that soldiers reportedly changed for amusement. The park surrounding the graves is managed by the City of Savannah and remains open daily, free of charge, as a public green space integrated into the historic downtown grid.

Colonial Park Cemetery sits one block from Reynolds Square on Abercorn Street, placing it within easy walking distance of much of Savannah's landmark district. For anyone drawn to American history, Southern Gothic atmosphere, or simply a quiet hour beneath the oaks, it rewards a slow and unhurried visit.