Greenwood Cemetery (Atlanta)

Greenwood Cemetery
Greenwood Cemetery
Details
Established	1904
Location	Atlanta, Georgia
Country	United States
Coordinates	33°43′32″N 84°27′14″W / 33.7256°N 84.4539°W
Type	Public
Find a Grave	Greenwood Cemetery

Greenwood Cemetery is located at 1173 Cascade Circle SW, Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States.

History

Greenwood Cemetery was chartered in late 1904 with a cash capital of $100,000. The incorporators were William H. Brown and James L. Mayson. The first direct interment was in 1907. Greenwood has a large Jewish section and is also the burial place of local Chinese and Greek citizens. Greenwood cemetery was desegregated in 1987, when CR Jones, Atlanta's first black council member, was buried there.^[1]

The cemetery contains one British Commonwealth war grave, of a Second World War airman of the Royal Canadian Air Force.^[2]

Chinese Section

The Chinese lot is enclosed on three sides by an iron-pipe rail fence. In the center stands an obelisk some 30 feet tall. Near its base, and under another inscription in Chinese is the following: CHEE HUNG TONG, CHINESE FREE MASONS, Sept. 8, 1911. Many of the individual graves on the lot are marked by small headstones, inscribed in Chinese characters.

Greek Section

The Greek section, about an acre in size, is bounded by a hedge. Like the Chinese lot, it was opened in 1911. There are many impressive monuments in it, practically all inscribed in Greek. In the southwest corner stands a small church, resembling a miniature Parthenon and constructed of yellow brick.^[3]

Holocaust Memorial

A stone was placed in Greenwood with the inscription, "Here rest four bars of human soap, the last earthly remains of Jewish victims of the Holocaust." The soap is said to have been found by a Jewish soldier who helped liberate a concentration camp during World War II. In 1970, the soldier's wife had the bars of soap buried after discovering them in her basement. However, there is considerable dispute over whether the Nazis actually made soap from victims, and the site remains controversial.^[4] A Memorial to the Six Million, a granite monument topped by six torches, also commemorates the Holocaust, each torch representing 1 million Jews killed in concentration camps.^[5] A Memorial to the Six Million was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in May 2008.^[6]

Famous Interments

Hank Ballard (1927–2003) singer, songwriter
S. Truett Cathy (1921–2014) founder of Chick-fil-A
Frank Taffel (1877–1947) Synagogue founder and journalist
Theo Allen McNair Sr. (1946-2015) Pastor and Founder of Believers Bible Christian Church
Anna Lucille McNair (1945-2020) Co Founder of Believers Bible Christian Church

References

^ Laughlin McDonald. A Voting Rights Odyssey: Black Enfranchisement in Georgia. Cambridge University Press (April 14, 2003) p. 63
^ [1] CWGC casualty record.
^ Franklin Garrett. Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events, 1880s-1930s. University of Georgia Press; Volume 2 edition (March 1, 2011) p. 460
^ Bizarre burial prods Holocaust angst. The Atlanta Journal - Constitution. Sept 25, 2000 p. A1
^ Day of Remembrance. The Atlanta Journal - Constitution. May 5, 1997 p. D1
^ Donna Williams Lewis. Holocaust remembered at ceremony in Atlanta. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. April 20, 2009

External links

Greenwood Cemetery at Find a Grave

[1] Laughlin McDonald. A Voting Rights Odyssey: Black Enfranchisement in Georgia. Cambridge University Press (April 14, 2003) p. 63

[2] [1] CWGC casualty record.

[3] Franklin Garrett. Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events, 1880s-1930s. University of Georgia Press; Volume 2 edition (March 1, 2011) p. 460

[4] Bizarre burial prods Holocaust angst. The Atlanta Journal - Constitution. Sept 25, 2000 p. A1

[5] Day of Remembrance. The Atlanta Journal - Constitution. May 5, 1997 p. D1

[6] Donna Williams Lewis. Holocaust remembered at ceremony in Atlanta. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. April 20, 2009

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