Riverside Cemetery (Macon, Georgia) Informations

Riverside Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Macon, Georgia established in 1887. It is approximately 54 acres (22 ha) in size and privately owned. Over 18,000 people are interred here.

Riverside Cemetery Corporation was founded in 1887 to create the cemetery in protest of what was seen as the city of Macon's poor upkeep of Rose Hill Cemetery nearby. That site dated from 1840 and had fallen into disrepair. The differences between the two adjacent cemeteries highlight changes in cemetery design during the 19th century, as well as the trend toward private (rather than public) ownership of these properties.

The original 23 acres (9.3 ha) plan was laid out from 1887 to 1889 and was designed by Vaux and Co., one of the few commissions by the firm in the Southeast. Peter E. Dennis of the local firm Dennis and Dennis was the local supervising architect, and designed the Gate House in 1897. The Mausoleum building was designed by the Georgia Mausoleum Company in 1918.

A triangular-shaped redoubt from the Civil War is preserved within the grounds, overlooking the Ocmulgee River. It was built by troops under the command of Gen. Howell Cobb in July 1864 in preparation for a raid that would take place during Sherman's March to the Sea.

The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

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