Cemetery Operations
Six employees maintain the City's 54-acre cemetery. They set up tents for graveside services, dig graves for burials and mow the expansive cemetery grounds. The cemetery is staffed six days a week and is accessible to the public seven days a week until dark. The older section of the cemetery is included in the National Register of Historic Places.
The Decatur Cemetery is a peaceful and beautiful place to walk. Many people enjoy walking their dogs through the cemetery. We ask all visitors to keep their dogs on leashes and stay on the roadway. As an added convenience, the cemetery staff provides Mutt-Mitts for disposal of pet waste. Thank you for helping to keep Decatur Cemetery a pleasant place for all to visit.
Friends of Decatur Cemetery is a volunteer group that works closely with the City to preserve and maintain the cemetery as a historic, cultural and greenspace resource.
The group invites you to share information about those you know who are buried in historic Decatur Cemetery by participating in a special project called Shared Memories. Enduring Legends.
Friends of Decatur Cemetery
The Decatur Preservation Alliance’s Friends of the Decatur Cemetery Committee is a devoted volunteer group that works closely with the City of Decatur and its citizens to preserve, maintain and improve the cemetery as a historic and cultural resource.
In 1997 the Decatur Cemetery was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Friends Committee has worked throughout the years to organize improvement programs. In partnership with Trees Atlanta and the city, the dead and dying trees have been and are continuing to be replaced. The 1881 gazebo was restored and repairs were made in the historic section with ongoing plans for the restoration of prominent gravesites. Most recently, a workshop led by a conservation expert was held on how to safely clean and repair gravestones. In conjunction with the city, the Friends conducted a storytelling festival in the cemetery for children of all ages. With a lot of help from Agnes Scott College students and faculty, Friends sponsor clean up days in the historic section. Grants and donations have also been obtained to aid with these efforts.
Current areas of focus include the Shared Memories project, formulating a new and special Veteran’s Day event and expanding the guided tours.
An important objective of the group’s guided tour program is to offer educational tours for school children and citizens in the Decatur area with the hope that Decatur’s history will not be forgotten. The tours are called Second Sunday Strolls and are held on the second Sunday of each month, May through October at 2:30 p.m. (tours start at the well house/gazebo). Special group tours can also be arranged by contacting the Decatur Preservation Alliance office at 404-371-4444. Guiding the tours is Friends member Cathy Vogel. She is very passionate about sharing her knowledge of the history, art and nature in the cemetery as it pertains to how people lived in their times. Decatur Cemetery is the resting place of many of the citizens who helped create the communities we know today as Decatur, DeKalb County and the state of Georgia.
Today the Friends Committee of the Decatur Preservation Alliance consists of ten dedicated citizens who are advocates for the preservation and improvement of the 54 acres of green space that make up the Decatur Cemetery. The group continues to explore better utilization of the cemetery as a treasured environment within an urban setting. With the city’s cemetery master plan in the works, there is high anticipation that our cemetery will become an even greater treasure.
The Friends Committee members are always eager to recruit new members that share the same passion for the preservation of such a beautiful, peaceful place. Those interested in joining may contact Susan Cobleigh at the Decatur Preservation Alliance at 404-371-4444, visit www.decaturpreservationalliance.org or contact David Crenshaw, chair of the Friend’s Committee at 404-378-8118.
Shared Memories. Enduring Legends.
Recording the stories of Decatur Cemetery . . . because every life is worth remembering.
The Friends of Decatur Cemetery invite you to share information about those you know who are buried in Historic Decatur Cemetery.
>Click for a brief questionnaire (MS Word)
Cemetery Master Plan
The Decatur Cemetery master planning process was interrupted 2 years ago due to a lack of funding for potential improvements. With the approval of Decatur’s bond referendum in 2006, funds are available to make a variety of improvements to the historic Decatur Cemetery.
>Click for more information
Lots available in Decatur Cemetery
Cemetery lots located in the northeastern portion of Decatur Cemetery are for sale and can be purchased at the cemetery office on Bell Street. The cost of two-grave lots is $3,000 each for City of Decatur residents and $5,000 each for non-residents. A limited number of single grave lots are available. The City Commission recently approved the development of this new section.
Lots in the cemetery’s cinerarium section are $400 each for Decatur residents and $600 each for non-residents. The cost includes a commemorative marker and interment fees.
For more information, contact the Cemetery office at 404-378-4411.