Linwood Cemetery

from The LocaL, Sept-Oct 2021

Gold Dust Woman ~ 1,864 times...

A Place of Beauty and History

By Jane Brady

The city of Columbus began as a planned city in 1828, when Georgia governor John Forsyth sent Edward Lloyd Thomas to survey a new town on the banks of the Chattahoochee River.

Thomas and his crew, which included his son Truman, plodded through forests and swamps, dragging chains and measuring out the city block by block.

The year of 1828 was born into a bitter winter, and as the harsh months wore on, young Truman fell ill. He succumbed to the cold and passed away on March 26th in the wilderness of what would become the neighborhood known as Linwood.

Mr. Thomas carried his son’s body up the hill, northeast of town, and buried him. This was the highest point in the city, and standing in the cemetery one could see down into the town and across the Chattahoochee River to Alabama. Edward Lloyd Thomas surveyed four acres and designated this area as the cemetery.

Land was set aside for the Jewish community and the first Jewish burial was in 1852. The next section of land added to the cemetery was drawn out into evenly proportioned lots, called the English Garden style. The lots were sold to the citizens of Columbus, with some of them selling for $5.00 a lot. Additional acreage was added to the cemetery until 1873 when it reached its present size of 28 acres. Since that time the citizens of Columbus continued the tradition of going “up the hill” to bury their loved ones.

Although it is now known as the famous “Linwood Cemetery,” it did not actually become Linwood until 1894. A fashionable suburb known as “Linwood,” named from a popular novel, “Ernest Linwood” by Caroline Lee Hentz, was nearby, and so the cemetery took that name. Linwood has survived the ravages of time, vandalism, neglect and underfunding to become the beautiful outdoor museum you see today.

This transformation can be directly related to the formation of the Historic Linwood Foundation. In January 1997, the local Lizzie Rutherford Chapter 60 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy called a community meeting to see if there was interest in starting a friends group for Linwood Cemetery. Over the years, the cemetery had been neglected and was not a pleasant place to visit. It was much overgrown with scrub brush and the brick walls were tumbling down in the roadway. Many of the monuments were broken.

At this community meeting, to which many of the families in Columbus who had family buried in Linwood were invited, about 25 people came. They were very enthusiastic and interested in trying to reclaim the cemetery. The Historic Linwood Foundation was born.

In 1997, those in the Foundation were beginners in cemetery restoration. Ken Thomas, at the time the Historian for the Department of Natural Resources and well known throughout the state, put the Foundation in touch with Lynette Strangstad, the premier conservator in the country. She had worked in Charleston, Savannah and at other historic cemeteries in other cities. The Foundation invited her to Columbus to assess the cemetery and was pleased that she spoke highly of the cemetery’s monuments and wrought iron fencing.The Foundation adopted her method of restoration, and continues to use her as a benchmark in restoring the cemetery’s marble, granite and brick work.

What criteria does the Foundation use to decide what monuments and markers get chosen to have work done on them? The first thing looked at is safety – how is the structural stability of the monument, or how safe is it for people to be around the monument? The second is theft – how easy would it be for someone to take. The last is visual – the aesthetics of the piece.

Linwood Cemetery is on the National Register of Historic Places. In the 1970’s, a group here in Columbus worked hard to get this designation, and they were successful because of the many historical people buried there: John S. Pemberton, inventor of Coca-Cola; General Henry Lewis Benning, for whom Ft. Benning is named; Georgia governor James Johnson, who was a Reconstructionist appointed by Andrew Johnson, and many Confederate soldiers and others who added to the history of this area. Just what does this designation as an historic place mean? Any material change to the fabric of what is now Linwood Cemetery has to have the approval of the Board of Historic and Architectural Review (BHAR), a city office that approves or disapproves changes.

There are men buried in Linwood who fought in the many wars of our country. Revolutionary soldiers as well as veterans from The War of 1812, the Indian Wars, the Mexican War, The War Between the States, the Spanish American war, World War I, World War II and Korea all rest in Linwood Cemetery. An interesting note found by Mary Jane Galer when she was working on her book, Lists of People, 1828-1852 and Sexton’s Reports to 1866, is that there were union soldiers buried in Linwood. A little research showed that these Union soldiers were disinterred and moved to Andersonville.

The Foundation does have an office on the cemetery grounds at the Gatehouse. Now visitors who come to Linwood to do genealogy research or who cannot remember where that certain grave is located can get help from us in finding their site. We have people from all over the world searching for their relatives.

Linwood is also the site of one of Columbus’s longtime traditions, the annual Fall Ramble. This year, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Historic Linwood Foundation will be hosting their 24th Annual Fall Ramble, the theme, “Heroes of the Past – Early Columbus First Responders”, highlighting some of the interesting stories of early Columbus Policemen, Marshalls and Fire Fighters. Tickets will go on sale September 13th. To purchase tickets or to find out more about the Ramble visit their website at linwoodcemetery.org.

The Ramble is not just a historic tour it’s also a photography opportunity. Throughout Linwood Cemetery guides try to pick the burial sites of prominent or interesting people buried in Linwood, and ask various people to serve as presenters who will tell their stories. This event has grown from about 60 the first time to over 300 in 2019.

Jane Brady is the Executive Director of the Historic Linwood Foundation. If you would like to learn more about the cemetery or how to get involved you can reach out to her directly at 706-321-8285.