Elmwood Cemetery Office and Entrance Bridge
About this property
Elmwood Cemetery is the oldest active cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee. It was established in 1852 as one of the first rural cemeteries in the South. On 28 August 1852, fifty prominent Memphis citizens each contributed $500 for stock certificates in order to purchase 40 acres (160,000 m2) of land for the cemetery; they envisioned that this land would be a park for the living as well as the dead, where family outings, picnics, and social gatherings could occur. It was meant to be a place where beautiful gardens were tended and individual monuments celebrated both life and death. The name for the place was chosen in a drawing: several proposed names were put into a hat and Elmwood was drawn, with the stockholders stating they were "well pleased" with the selection. Ironically, they had to hurriedly order some elms trees from New York to place among the native oaks of Memphis, since there were no elms in the area. After the American Civil War, the property was expanded to 80 acres (320,000 m2) for another $40,000. In the 1870s, the original corporation controlling the cemetery was dissolved and it became one of the oldest nonprofits in Tennessee. About 1,000 Confederate soldiers and veterans are buried in Confederate Soldiers Rest, located in the cemetery's Fowler Section. Many other Confederates are buried elsewhere in the cemetery. The first burial in Confederate Soldiers Rest was William (Thomas) Gallagher on June 17, 1861, and the last interment was John Frank Gunter on April 1, 1940. Among the Confederate generals buried there are James Patton Anderson, a former U.S. Congressman who commanded the Army of Tennessee in 1862, Colton Greene, Preston Smith and William Henry Carroll. Other burials include Isham G. Harris, Tennessee's Confederate-era governor, Thomas Battle Turley, CSA private and U.S. Senator from Tennessee, and William Graham Swan, a Confederate congressman and mayor of Knoxville. Union soldiers also were buried at Elmwood in the 1860s, but almost all were removed in 1868 and reinterred in Memphis National Cemetery. Union general, William Jay Smith is interred at Elmwood. Also interred at Elmwood is renowned Civil War author Shelby Foote, famous for his comprehensive three volume, 3000-page history of the war The Civil War: A Narrative. He is buried beside the family plot of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest himself was also originally buried at Elmwood, but in 1904 the remains of Forrest and his wife Mary were disinterred and moved to a Memphis city park originally named Forrest Park in his honor, that has since been renamed Health Sciences Park.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Elmwood Cemetery Office and Entrance Bridge listed on the National Register?
Elmwood Cemetery Office and Entrance Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 21, 1978.
What type of historic resource is Elmwood Cemetery Office and Entrance Bridge?
Elmwood Cemetery Office and Entrance Bridge is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Elmwood Cemetery Office and Entrance Bridge?
The period of significance for Elmwood Cemetery Office and Entrance Bridge is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Elmwood Cemetery Office and Entrance Bridge?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Elmwood Cemetery Office and Entrance Bridge will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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