Visiting a the Grand Victorian Necropolis which is Magnolia Cemetery

On the day after Halloween our class took a trip to Magnolia Cemetery. Before having gone, our class already knew a lot about the cemetery but going and seeing it in person was an experience. I was really confused when driving up to the cemetery because it kinda is in the middle of nowhere. When I first entered it I was completely overwhelmed by the size of it. I know that the cemetery was big but I never registered that it would be that big. We have toured lots of graveyards over the course of the semester but they were never big enough to get completely lost in. This one you could easily get lost in because it is gigantic.

Magnolia Cemetery opened in 1850 as non-denominational cemetery. The cemetery is 150 acres and is located on the banks of the Cooper River. There are 35,000 people buried here which includes seven confederate generals, 2,200 veterans, and 3 submarine Hunley crew members. Magnolia Cemetery is considered a big tourist attraction in the Charleston area. There are many tour groups along with ghost hunts that go through the historic cemetery.

One thing that I really like about Magnolia was the scenery. Similar to the Unitarian Church graveyard it had lot of greenery. Magnolia Cemetery is also located on the Cooper river so there are some really pretty views of the water. Over all I really like how it feels like the cemetery is embedded into nature in a very seamless way.

The image on the life is a picture of Annie Kerr Aiken's grave. She died at the age of 3 of a throat disease. It is common to see toys or stuffed animals left on her grave.

This grave marks the resting place of William and Hattie Bird. The woman on the top of the grave is supposed to be Hattie Bird who died at the age 44 from heart disease.

This mausoleum it the final resting place of 9 Gibbes family members. Robert Gibbes first come to Charleston from Barbados and was the governor of the Provenience of Carolina. 

My group member on the Vanderhorst mausoleum

Going and touring Magnolia Cemetery was a really cool experience. The one thing that I found extremely interesting is the crazy amount of history that is in the cemetery.