The Dead Still Speak
Episode 44
The Grim is opening the gate and entering Oakland Cemetery located in Atlanta, Georgia. The Cemetery serves as a 48-acre Victorian garden necropolis where the complex history of the South is buried beneath marble monuments and winding paths. Founded in 1850, this historic cemetery contains the stories of both celebrated figures and forgotten souls, revealing the social hierarchies that persisted even in death.
• Original Six Acres contains the oldest graves, including Dr. James Nissen (1850)
• Jewish sections reveal cultural differences between German and Russian Jewish communities
• Confederate Burial Grounds hold nearly 7,000 soldiers beneath a 60-foot granite obelisk
• African-American grounds tell stories of displacement, with graves moved multiple times
• Notable residents include Margaret Mitchell (Gone With the Wind), Bobby Jones (golf legend), and Maynard Jackson (Atlanta's first Black mayor)
• Carrie Steele Logan's grave reminds visitors of her remarkable journey from slavery to founding America's oldest Black orphanage
• Dr. Joseph Jacobs, whose pharmacy served the first Coca-Cola, rests in relative obscurity
• Historic Oakland Foundation continues preservation efforts to ensure these stories aren't forgotten
Visit Oakland Cemetery to experience Atlanta's most compelling outdoor museum where history is layered in the soil itself, and join the Historic Oakland Foundation's efforts to preserve this irreplaceable historical record.
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