You nonRichmonders might be wondering what is Hollywood Cemetery. It's another site of Richmond, adding to the city's eclectic personality. With parts overlooking the James River and the downtown buildings, the cemetery is literally hidden among the side roads of Belvidere and Cary streets in the Oregon Hill section, just on the cusp of Shockoe Slip/Bottom.
I put this cemetery on my list because for the six consecutive years that I'd been in Richmond, I've always wanted to go and the place just always eluded me. I'm telling you, it really is hidden. My most recent trip back to Richmond afforded me the chance to visit the cemetery, as Jess (of Chubb Kitchen) suggested we visit since I've never been (yay for friends wanting to help me strike things off the list!).
How many of you think visiting a cemetery with the intent to sight-see is odd? As I walked through the wrought-iron gates flanked with green ivy-like foliage and looked up at the welcome house, a sense of eerie history began seeping in. I'll admit that aside from one funeral when I was a child, I've never been in a cemetery. I felt like I was embarking on one of those ghost tours. I still can't figure out if the shivers I felt were out of eerie-ness or excitement.
This cemetery is HUGE! We did a driving tour (which also felt odd), stopping here and there to
take pictures of the famous sites, as was noted on the tour map. It just felt massive to be in a place with so much history! Seeing all these tombstones with years dating back to 1847 to the present just makes me think of time and all that was before us, the progression of the city, culture, society, technology.
I walked among people who died during the Civil War, heard of Lincoln's assassination, saw many of the U.S.'s states admitted, were victims of an Influenza wave, witnessed the passing of the Prohibition Act, celebrated women's suffrage, and so much more. All those historical events all leading up to you being able to live the life you live today. And those were just some of the events that passed through my mind as I passed through these people's final resting place. What's more the enormity of time just hits you in a cemetery so old that Jefferson Davis and U.S. Presidents James Monroe and John Tyler are buried there also (click links for pics I took).
Each person buried there holds a story, a perspective, a reflection into life and times as recent as this year! I could go into detail about a few of the people buried there that reflect Richmond's, Virginia'a, and the country's history but instead I invite you to take a visit, if you've not already. Gosh, isn't History just amazing? Makes me wonder what lies in other states' old cemeteries...
