Oakland Cemetery (Atlanta)

Oakland Cemetery is Atlanta, Georgia's oldest and largest cemetery as well as its third largest green space. Founded in 1850 on six acres of land as "Atlanta Cemetery," Oakland was renamed in 1872 to reflect the large number of Oak trees growing in the area. By this time, the cemetery had expanded with the city it resides in to 88 acres, the current size. The original six acres of Oakland remain one of the oldest unchanged plots of land in Atlanta, most of the rest of the city having been burned in 1864. As a result of its age, Oakland directly reflects the history and changing culture of the city of Atlanta and the significant historical events it has seen.

Notable Burials

• Martha Atalanta Lumpkin Compton, daughter of Governor Wilson Lumpkin and namesake of "Marthasville," the name by which Atlanta was known from 1843 until approximately 1845.
• Morris and Emanuel Rich, founders of the Rich's department store.
• Joseph Jacobs, owner of the pharmacy where John Pemberton first sold Coca-Cola as a soft drink.
• Alfred Iverson, Jr., Clement Anselm Evans, John Brown Gordon, Confederate Generals
• Bishop Wesley John Gaines, founder of Morris Brown College.
• Maynard Jackson, first African-American mayor of Atlanta.
• Margaret Mitchell Marsh, author of Gone With the Wind.
• Bobby Jones, first golf player to win The Double, both the U.S. Open and The Open Championship (British Open) in the same year.