Oak Hill Cemetery, Newnan Georgia

Date added: October 11, 2023 Categories: Georgia Cemetery

Catholic crucifix looking southwest (2011)

Oak Hill Cemetery is located just north of downtown Newnan. The cemetery began in 1828 as a private burial ground. The cemetery formally opened to the public in 1833 when the city acquired the cemetery This was five years after Newnan was founded and six years after Coweta County was formed. Most cities in the mid-19^th Century had a cemetery located just outside of town. As Newnan grew, the city began acquiring adjacent property to the north to expand the cemetery in 1840. In 1940 the city added the stone entry columns and began implementing a landscaping plan. Additional adjacent property was acquired in 1950, 1977, and 2000. Burials date from 1840 through the present day and the cemetery contains over 6,000 known burials in all of the historic sections. The name, Oak Hill, came from an 1897 newspaper contest to name the cemetery. Two Georgia governors and numerous political figures are buried in the cemetery.

When it was privately owned, the cemetery was divided into several sections. South of Jefferson Street is the Presbyterian section of the cemetery. The Presbyterian church, which had been established in 1828 in nearby Bullsboro, moved to a new building in Newnan at the southeast corner of Jackson and Clark streets. The church located their burial grounds adjacent to their new church building. This location, on the south side of Jefferson Street, is still recognized as the Presbyterian cemetery and all plots are sold to church members. In 1845 the Presbyterians built a new church building on Jackson Street. The section is still owned by the church, but maintained by the city.

The area north of Jefferson Street contains the oldest sections of the cemetery. The Methodists had a church and cemetery here beginning in 1828, the same year that the city was founded. The church built a small log church, no longer extant, that they worshiped in until they outgrew it in 1830.

Also on the north side of Jefferson Street are three other named sections. These include the Dr. Davis section, the Helen Long section, and the burial ground of the Newnan Baptist Church. Individuals purchased their grave plots from the proprietors of these private cemeteries. In 1833 the city purchased all of these burial grounds, except for the Presbyterian section, and established the cemetery as a public cemetery.

There are approximately 6,000 graves in the historic cemetery. Markers date from the early 19^th Century to the present; the earliest marked grave is 1840. Some of the early plots have no markers and there are no records of the owners.

A landscaping plan was begun in the 1940s. Willow oak trees line the main street and cedar trees are interspersed throughout. Individual lots have shrubs planted by the owners. A tornado in the 1950s destroyed many of the cedar trees in the Confederate section.

Two of Georgia's Governors and numerous political figures are buried here. Governor William Yates Atkinson (1854-1899) of Newnan is buried in the Presbyterian section. Governor Atkinson served as a member of the State House of Representatives, 1886-1894: Speaker of the House, 1892-1894; Georgia Democratic State Chair, 1890-1892; and Governor of Georgia, 1894-1898. Governor Atkinson died in Newnan on August 8th, 1899. Atkinson County, Georgia, is named after the Governor.

Governor Ellis Gibbs Arnall (1907-1992) of Newnan is buried in the main cemetery. Governor Arnall served as a member of the State House of Representatives 1933-1937; Georgia State Attorney General, 1939-1943; and Governor of Georgia, 1943-1947.

Others who held political office and are buried at Oak Hill include William Carter Wright (1866-1933) of Newnan who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 4^th District, 1918-1933.

Albert Sidney Camp (1892-1954) of Newnan was a member of the Georgia Legislature; and a U.S. Representative from Georgia's 4^th District, 1939-1954. Camp died in Bethesda, Maryland, on July 24th, 1954 while he was in office.

James Curran Davis (1895-1981) was born in Franklin, Georgia. Davis served as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, 1925-1928; Superior Court Judge in Georgia, 1937-1947; U.S. House Representative from Georgia's 5^th District, 1947-1963; and was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in 1956.

Hugh Buchanan (1823-1890) of Georgia was born in Argyleshire, Scotland, on September 15th, 1823. He was a Presidential Elector for Georgia 1860; served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; was a Superior Court judge in Georgia, 1870-1880; and a U.S. House Representative from Georgia's 4^th District, 1881-1885. He died in Newnan on June 11th, 1890.

William Yates Atkinson, Jr. (1887-1953) of Newnan followed in his father, Governor Atkinson's, political footsteps by serving as the Solicitor General for the Coweta Judicial Circuit, 1921-1942. He served as the Georgia Democratic State Chair, 1942; and as Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, 1943-1953.

William Barton Wade Dent (1806-1855) of Georgia was a member of the Georgia Legislature; U.S. House Representative from Georgia's 4^th District, 1853-1855; and at one time owned Stone Mountain.

Perhaps one of the most prominent local families in the cemetery is the Cole family. The Cole family made significant contributions to the welfare of the community. One lasting monument to their influence is the Coweta County Courthouse, which they built in 1904.

Robert Duke Cole and his brother Matthew Cole moved to Newnan in the 1840s and opened a small woodworking shop. In 1854 they established the R. D. Cole Manufacturing Company and manufactured such diverse products as boilers, engines, and cotton presses. The company operated both a saw mill and a grist mill. In the early 1900s, they began steel fabrication and became known worldwide for the water tanks they designed and built.

Robert Duke Cole (called by everyone "Uncle Duke") married Martha Burrel Overby. They had one son who died at the age of 19. Duke was instrumental in organizing the Newnan Cotton Mills in 1888. He was the largest shareholder and president of the company. In 1892 he built Mills Chapel Church on East Washington Street for the mill employees and other residents of that area. His obituary, when he died in 1909, called him "a grand old man; an artisan, builder, philosopher, and a Christian."

Matthew Cole married Haney Nall and had one daughter and five sons, who were all on the management staff of the R.D. Cole Company. He was a member of the Independent Order of Grand Templars and in 1904 was a delegate to Washington, D.C., as a member of the Southern Industrial Parliament.

"Cole Shop" was known for its artisans who made trim for houses and also for the houses they built. "Uncle Duke", his brother Matt, and Matt's five sons built fine homes near the mill on East Broad Street.

Charles L. Thompson was interred in Oak Hill Cemetery on February 2^nd, 1902. Thompson was the champion behind the city receiving the first Carnegie Library in the state of Georgia. Andrew Carnegie had never gifted money to a community as small as Newnan, but Thompson longed for the community to have a free public library. Thompson never lived to see his dream. The Herald and Advertiser of February 1902 states, "there is little doubt that exposure to the weather, while engaged in canvassing the city in the interest of the library movement, brought on the illness which terminated his death."

Oak Hill Cemetery is the final resting place for many veterans. There are two Revolutionary War soldiers buried under trees in the oldest part of the cemetery. Adjacent to that is the Confederate section where 270 Confederate soldiers, representing all Confederate states, who were either killed in the Battle of Brown's Mill near Newnan, or died in one of the several Newnan hospitals, are buried. Of these 270 soldiers, 269 are identified. Of particular interest is the grave of William Thomas Overby, a member of Mosby's Rangers, who was captured and hanged in Front Royal, Virginia, because he would not divulge the location of his unit. In 1997 his remains were disinterred from Virginia and re-interred in Oak Hill. The Ladies Memorial Association erected a granite marker to honor the Confederates. There are also numerous veterans of World Wars I and II, Vietnam, and Korea buried in the cemetery.

Site Description

Oak Hill Cemetery is located approximately one-half mile north of downtown Newnan in Coweta County in west central Georgia. The 62-acre cemetery sits on a hill overlooking downtown and is bounded by Augusta Street on the south, a residential area on the north, Jackson Street on the west, and a newer cemetery property that abuts the Atlanta & West Point Railroad tracks on the east. It is bisected by Jefferson Street. The north entrance to the cemetery from Jefferson Street features decorative stonework inscribed with the dates "1833" and "1940". The cemetery is divided into 37 sections that are accessed by three north-south streets with numerous east-west cross streets in a grid pattern. The cemetery began as private burial grounds in 1828, which were then acquired by the city in 1833. The 1828 sections of the cemetery are located on either side of Jefferson Street and are not in a grid pattern. On the south side of Jefferson Street is the Presbyterian section which is still owned by the church, but maintained by the city. The cemetery's 6,000 known burial plots are arranged informally, most within family plots consisting of four to eight graves per plot. These plots are often designated by either cast-iron fencing or stone curbing. There are no designated sections for religious or ethnic groups within the city-owned section. There is a Confederate soldier's section consisting of 270 graves. Prominent monument types include truncated columns and obelisks, although the cemetery also contains many other types such as headstones, pulpit markers, bedsteads, box tombs, and ledgers. There is a large variety of funerary symbols throughout the cemetery including angels, crosses, cradles, urns, flowers, conch shells, crowns, wreaths, flowers, doves, cherubs, lambs, and sleeping babies. Material used for the monuments includes Italian marble, Pickens County marble, and Elbert County granite. The cemetery contains many mature trees, mostly cedars and oaks.

After acquisition of the property in 1833, the city designed the cemetery in a classic grid pattern nearly identical to the layout of downtown Newnan. The Confederate Civil War section is laid out in a pattern consistent with those used in other military cemeteries. The markers are government-issue type markers.

The main portion of the cemetery is located on the north side of Jefferson Street. On this side of the street, there are several pre-1833 sections of the cemetery that were private burial grounds. These include those sections belonging to the Baptist and Methodist churches and sections owned by Dr. Davis and Helen Long.

On the south side of Jefferson Street, is the Presbyterian section. It was the burial grounds for the Presbyterian church congregation, which had been established in 1828 in nearby Bullsboro, and then moved to Newnan in 1834.

The pre-1833 sections of the cemetery are not in a grid pattern. Because these sections were owned by different individuals, they evolved differently than the post-1833 sections. There are no marked burials that pre-date 1833.

The cemetery is divided into 37 sections. The larger part of the cemetery north of Jefferson Street is accessed by three north-south streets and numerous east-west cross streets. The streets are not named. As more land was acquired beginning in 1840, the cemetery expanded northward with a grid pattern that is still intact. In the later sections, the markers are much less ornate than in the earlier sections and reflect a changing practice in funerary customs and design. The majority of the markers in the later sections are simple ledger, footstone, or lawn-type markers. Several exceptions to this can be seen in the Mansour family plot reflecting their Catholic faith and the Thomas monument. An unusual marker depicting an arm reflects the sense of humor of the man who lost it in an accident.

The city began implementing a landscaping plan in the 1940s. Numerous oak trees along the main driveway were planted at that time. Cedar trees were also part of the 1940s landscaping. They are used throughout the cemetery and are symbols of eternal life. The grounds are interspersed with other trees including magnolias and water oaks, primarily in the older sections. The newest sections of the cemetery, located in the north and east areas, have little landscaping.

There is a wide variety of funerary art in Oak Hill Cemetery. Early settlers in Coweta County became very prosperous and their markers reflect their financial status. Many markers were made from Italian Carrera marble, Pickens County marble, and Elbert County granite. The oldest sections of the cemetery are located adjacent to, and on either side of, Jefferson Street. The earliest markers in these sections tend to be simple ledger or headstone monuments. Many of the large and distinctive monuments include the symbolism and sentiments of the Victorian Age, including angels, markers with draping cloth, and flowery verse.

Most of the burial plots are arranged informally within family plots consisting of four to eight graves per plot. There are several plots surrounded by a low stone coping wall with family surnames on thresholds at the entrance. Other plots are enclosed by cast-iron fences with elaborate gates. Cast-iron fencing, popular in the Victorian era, was readily available and often was used to surround a family plot. The Parrott family plot contains a variety of monuments including an angel, classical columns, and ledger monuments.

The Cole family marble mausoleum is the only mausoleum in the cemetery. Particularly prominent throughout the older sections of the cemetery are obelisks, Victorian symbols of eternal life. Markers contain a variety of symbols including angels, crosses, cradles, urns, flowers, conch shells, crowns, wreaths, hands holding flowers, or a crown. Other symbols are tree stump and log monuments, sculptured doves, cherubs, lambs, and sleeping babies. These symbols, so well understood in the Victorian era, expressed in artistic terms both grief and devotion. Other symbols reflect places of origin such as the thistles, symbolic of Scotland, that mark the monuments of the McRitchie family. Mechanized manufacturing processes in the 19^th Century allowed for a broad range of patterns for monuments.

The cemetery features a Confederate soldier's section consisting of 270 graves, 269 that are identified. A battle was fought south of Newnan and there were several hospitals in Newnan. Every state in the Confederacy is represented by at least one soldier buried here. There is a granite marker "Our Confederate Dead - No cause eer rose so just and true, none fell so free from crime." Also a "Confederate Dead" state historical marker is located beside the road. Of particular interest is the grave of William Thomas Overby, a member of Mosby's Rangers, who was captured and hanged in Front Royal, Virginia, because he would not divulge the location of his unit. After his initial burial in Virginia, his remains were disinterred and reinterred in Oak Hill in 1997.

There are two graves of Revolutionary War veterans. A World War I veteran is also among the burials in this section.

The cemetery is the resting place for many men who served in state and federal government positions. Most notably are Governor William Yates Atkinson (1854-1899) and Governor Ellis Gibbs Arnall (1907-1992). They are buried at opposite ends of the cemetery. Six other men who served in the Georgia House of Representatives and three, who served as members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia, are also buried here.