Bonaventure Cemetery

Bonaventure Cemetery stands on a bluff above the Wilmington River southeast of downtown Savannah and covers 160 acres (about 65 ha). The land was formerly a plantation owned by Colonel John Mullryne; Peter Wiltberger bought it in 1846, and the first burials took place in 1850. The City of Savannah acquired the cemetery in 1907 and gave it its present name; it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. Just inside the entrance stands the ornate Gaston Tomb.

Those buried here include the philanthropist Mary Telfair and the songwriter Johnny Mercer. The naturalist John Muir spent six days and nights in the cemetery in 1867. The "Bird Girl" statue became world-famous through Jack Leigh's photograph on the cover of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" (1994); it was moved from here to the Telfair Museums in 1997 and now stands in the Jepson Center. The cemetery is open daily during daylight hours and admission is free. Please be respectful, as burials still take place here.