The Beautiful Myrtle Hill Cemetery In Rome, Georgia, is one of the most visited places in Rome. It’s a fantastic place of history with spectacular views. It is an amazing place that radiates the history of Rome. Established in 1857, it is the second oldest cemetery in Rome. The cemetery sits at the end of Broad Street, overlooking where the Etowah and Oostanala Rivers meet to form the Coosa River. It is one of the seven hills that make up the Rome area.
When it was established, Myrtle Hill’s location protected it from the frequent flooding in the downtown area. The name “Myrtle Hill” was chosen because a plant called “Trailing Myrtle” grew wild all over the hill. Myrtle Hill Cemetery is registered as a Historical Landmark.
Beautiful statues and monuments are erected on the six terraced levels covering 32 acres.
It is a perfect place to take photos. You can see almost the entire downtown area from the top of the hill. Photographers come to Rome, Georgia to take pictures atop Myrtle Hill. I love seeing everyone’s shots overlooking the town.
What captivates my attention, and draws many others to Myrtle Hill, is the history it holds. Myrtle Hill is the final resting place of many well-known Romans. One of those buried there is Ellen Louise Axson. She was the wife of President Woodrow Wilson and died while he was in office. She is buried at Myrtle Hill Cemetery along with members of her family. She and Woodrow Wilson met while he was in Rome, taking care of his family’s estate. He visited Rome’s First Presbyterian Church, where Ellen’s father was a pastor. They fell in love and married in Savannah Ga in 1885. Ellen Wilson was an influential person at Berry College and a mentor of Eleanor Roosevelt.
Ellen Wilson was a friend of Martha Berry. Although Martha Berry is not buried at Myrtle Hill, her parents, Thomas and Frances Rhea Berry, are.
If you are from Rome or familiar with Rome, Georgia, then you have heard of Harbin Clinic. Two founders of Harbin Hospital (now Clinic) are buried at Myrtle Hill Cemetery, Dr. Robert Maxwell Harbin and Dr. William Pickens Harbin.
Appropriately two of Rome’s founders are buried at the top of the hill. Colonel Daniel R. Mitchell and Colonel Zachariah B Hargrove.
At the base of Myrtle Hill, at the corner of South Broad and Myrtle Street, is Veteran’s Plaza. In the center of the Plaza is the Tomb of the Known Soldier. The Tomb of the Known Soldier is a gravesite dedicated to a soldier killed in World War I, Private Charles Graves. Like the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington, this memorial is dedicated to all the soldiers killed in WWI that were known. On either side of the Tomb of the Known Soldier are two Confederate monuments that have been relocated from Broad Street and Second Avenue.
Just around the corner from Veteran’s Plaza is The Confederate Cemetery. It contains over 368 Confederate and Union soldiers, including 75 Unknown Confederates and two Unknown Union Soldiers that lost their lives in Civil War battles in and around Rome.
In 2013 Myrtle Hill Cemetery opened the Mausoleum. With no burial plots available, the Mausoleum allows people to continue to be buried there.
A few times a year, guided tours of Myrtle Hill Cemetery are available. If a tour is unavailable, stop by the Rome Visitors Center and pick up a copy of a map for a self-guided tour. You can also download an app on your phone for a self-guided tour. On the self-guided tour, you can find famous burial sites and different types of trees. If graves and trees are not interesting, climbing up to the top of the hill to see the view is enough to attract anyone.
For more information, read about the Seven Hills of Rome, Georgia
Even though I have visited Myrtle Hill before, I have learned more about it by reading your article. Thanks for the information.