Lott Cemetery was established in 1877 as the city cemetery for Waycross. It is a one-block-by-one block cemetery named for Dr. Daniel Lott, one of the founders of Waycross. Many of the city’s founders are buried here.
For the size of the cemetery, it has one of the largest collections of Victorian monuments I’ve seen. The photos represent some of the markers in this small city cemetery. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
A life-sized baby elephant named Nancy sits atop the grave of William Duggan (1899-1950) in the cemetery of Pleasant Grove Primitive Baptist Church in Moultrie, Georgia. While Primitive Baptists are known for unadorned churches and cemeteries, this is one of a handful of cemeteries in Georgia where there is a one-of-a-kind sculpture honoring someone.
Duggan grew up working around circuses. He had a special love for elephants. He fulfilled a lifelong dream of owning a circus, but he passed away before being able to travel with it. His son had this life-sized monument made of Nancy, the elephant.
I found two references to a Nancy, the elephant, in the newspapers. One was in a Florida parade and another that lived in a Chicago zoo. My assumption is that the one in Florida is this Nancy based on date and location. I am sharing the one from Chicago, too.
This incredibly detailed monument for Myron Griggs Hinson (1908-1913) stands in Woodlawn City Cemetery in Adel, Georgia. He was the son of George and Virginia Hinson who you can see in a poignant photograph on Findagrave.
While this page is more about the live-in housekeeper for the Hinsons than the Hinsons, here is an interesting Facebook page by someone dedicated to keeping this monument clean and sharing what they have discovered about the family and their housekeeper,
Founded in 1853, Oak City Cemetery was the first public cemetery in Bainbridge. There are many Victorian markers in the cemetery, most of which are marking the graves of children. The most famous markers belong to the Bower wives and sister. Judge Byron Bowers married Ellen Dickinson in 1881. When she passed in 1885, he married her sister Annie in 1886. Annie passed less than a year into their marriage.
Fort Gaines, Clay County
Located in Fort Gaines, Georgia, the monument is for Colonel James Bennett (1800-1868). He was originally buried in Alabama, but he was moved at the request of the great grandson.
The monument features the winged hourglass. The hourglass represents the marching on of time. The wings represent a descent to heaven.
Founded in 1860, New Park Cemetery is one of the early cemeteries in Fort Gaines, Georgia. The cemetery contains many examples of markers representing the years it’s been active. One of the more unusual aspects of the cemetery is that there is a Victorian gazebo built in 1880 that sits atop a Native American burial ground, believed to be at least 1000 years old. Like the Kolomoki Mounds, it is believed this was built by the Swift Creek and Weeden Island people.
