Raleigh's Historic Cemeteries

Wake County (NC) is blessed with many wonderful old cemeteries, both large and small, several of which are located in downtown Raleigh -- Old City Cemetery, Oakwood Cemetery, Mt. Hope, O'Rorke and several others. Notable among them are two historic cemeteries located near downtown Raleigh -- Old City Cemetery and Oakwood Cemetery.

Old City Cemetery

A stroll through Raleigh’s Old City Cemetery, with its cobblestone roadways, is a trip through local history. Established in 1798 with sections for “residents, visitors & slaves”, those buried here include senators, generals and many of the founders of both the city and the state including Joel Lane, known as “the father of Raleigh”. While it is a treasure trove for genealogists with local ancestors, it also offers visitors and those without local connections a vivid and touchingly personal glimpse of history. One finds the grave of Jacob Johnson, father of our 17th President Andrew Johnson, who “died from disease caused by an over-effort in saving the life of his friend”; of Wm. Gray Kilkelly, Express Agent, “who perished the 10th March 1856, in the burning of the cars on the Seaboard Road”; and poignant eulogies such as “she died without an enemy” on stones that no longer bear a name.

Learn more about this cemetery.

Oakwood Cemetery

A few blocks north one can visit Historic Oakwood Cemetery, which began in 1867 when Henry Mordecai donated two and one-half acres to reinter the Confederate dead. An agent for the U.S. government, having claimed the existing cemetery on Rock Quarry road as a national cemetery for Union soldiers, threatened to throw the disinterred Confederate dead out onto the public street unless they were removed within 3 days. A local group, spearheaded by Sophia Partridge and largely comprised of women and children, moved more than 400 dead to their new resting place at Oakwood. The Confederate section of Oakwood now contains nearly 1500 graves including four Confederate generals. The cemetery was founded in 1869 and now includes 102 acres. Oakwood Cemetery, like City Cemetery, is the final resting place of many prominent people and many, though less well known, whose monuments and epitaphs speak of their own fascinating stories.

Learn more about this cemetery.

Whether you are seeking specific genealogical information, or simply wish to experience history in a very personal way, a visit to Raleigh’s cemeteries is sure to prove memorable.