Discover art, nature, and history by visiting these Southern cemeteries

On a recent stroll through Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 in New Orleans, I was admiring the remarkable architecture and unique items that the living leave behind on loved ones’ graves.

Suddenly, I heard thunder rumbling in the distance. Tourists retreated, some filing into nearby Commander’s Palace for coffee and dessert, but I lifted my umbrella and continued on. Something about the rain drizzling on those ornate tombs with the streetlights casting a silvery glow made the experience more magical.

It’s no wonder people enjoy visiting Southern cemeteries in the autumn. With mature trees draping over grave sites and grand statuary to appreciate, these peaceful places of repose offer lovely sites for autumn walks. These cemeteries mirror the history of their towns and often contain famous citizens and military heroes. In many places, organizations perform reenactments to bring those who have passed to life. There may even be a ghost story or two.

Here’s a sampling of the many enthralling Southern cemeteries to explore this fall that serve as natural sanctuaries, outdoor museums, and places of reflection.

To reach Natchez City Cemetery, one of Mississippi’s oldest burial sites, visitors follow a winding road scaling the bluffs of the Mississippi River. Architecturally significant statues and tombs grace tree-lined lanes that snake through the historic resting place’s 100 acres. Here lie some of the city’s leading citizens, including politicians, five generals, groundbreaking teachers, artists, and philanthropists—plus a few peculiar grave sites.

Before Florence Irene Ford died of yellow fever in 1871, the 10-year-old was terrified of thunderstorms. Her mother insisted her daughter’s coffin include a glass window and the tomb have stairs into the ground so she could sit by her deceased child and comfort her during inclement weather.

Another offbeat burial request involved Rufus E. Case, who asked to be buried in his rocking chair facing across the Mississippi River toward his Louisiana home. A child in his family had died before him, so he was positioned in his favorite chair beside the grave, and his tomb was built around him.

And then there’s Turning Angel, a statue that memorializes Natchez Drug Company employees who were killed by a 1908 explosion. Folks say the angel’s eyes follow those who pass by, especially at night, when lights from the street shine upon her face.

Visitors are welcome daily from dawn to dusk, and an audio self-guided tour on CD may be rented at the main office for $10 during the week. A brochure outlines the massive cemetery’s geography and pinpoints where famous people are buried.

The cemetery stages Angels on the Bluff to honor the lives of those buried there. Channeling figures from beyond the grave, costumed reenactors recite the history of the individuals they’re portraying in front of their tombs. Tickets for the event, tentatively scheduled for November 11–13 this year, are $35 and always sell out quickly.

In addition to a solemn array of more than 2,000 Confederate soldier graves in Friendship Cemetery of Columbus, Mississippi, visitors will find the headstone of Mrs. Canant, whose first name is a mystery. While little is known about the volunteer nurse, the only Confederate nurse recognized by the U.S. government, her story is entwined with Columbus, where homes and churches were opened to nurse thousands of wounded.

President Lyndon Johnson and Congress declared Waterloo, New York, as the birthplace of Memorial Day, but folks in Columbus maintain that the holiday’s origins began with their Decoration Day on April 25, 1866, at Friendship Cemetery. On that day, the city’s women placed flowers on Confederate soldiers’ graves, and when they noticed the graves of Union soldiers were barren, they placed flowers there as well.

Famous people buried in Friendship Cemetery, founded in 1849, include Confederate generals, U.S. congressmen, and Air Force Colonel Henry Edward Warden, “the Father of the B-52.”

Several little houses—some with windows and locks on the doors—were built over graves in Istre Cemetery in southwest Louisiana. No one knows why they were constructed, but theories suggest both spiritual beliefs and practical considerations, such as wet Louisiana weather.

Located southeast of Jennings, the cemetery once contained at least 40 houses but now only three historical ones remain. The oldest two date to 1867, according to Jessica H. Schexnayder and Mary H. Manhein, authors of Fragile Grounds: Louisiana’s Endangered Cemeteries.

“One person built one for his granddaughter, who died in the late 1990s,” Schexnayder said, adding that the modern grave house emulates the three older ones.

Similar shelters can be found about an hour west in Pitkin, Louisiana, constructed over graves by the Talbert and Pierson families who first settled there in the 1860s. The Talbert-Pierson Cemetery includes 13 unique grave houses with metal roofs.

Mount Holly also hosts a free living history event, Tales of the Crypt, on the second Tuesday in October. Students from the Parkview Arts/Science Magnet High School drama department annually select some of those interred there to portray. Check in advance if the event will be held this year.

In 1817, the U.S. Army built a military post on the edge of the frontier in Fort Smith, Arkansas, to establish peace between the Cherokee and Osage. The small Fort Smith National Cemetery was likely created shortly thereafter, but it was elevated to a national cemetery in 1867 and expanded several times. Today, it encompasses 32 neatly manicured acres with row upon row of headstones.

Fort Smith’s most famous resident is Isaac C. Parker, known as the “Hanging Judge” for sentencing 151 men to death by hanging, although only 83 met that fate. Also buried there is Brigadier General William O. Darby, who was killed while commanding the First Ranger Battalion, or “Darby’s Rangers,” during World War II.

Monuments at the cemetery, which is part of the National Register of Historic Places, include a carillon donated by the American Veterans, a Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and a Pearl Harbor Memorial.

Other New Orleans–area cemeteries to explore include historic Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 in the heart of the Garden District. Among the approximately 1,100 family tombs is a cast-iron vault that resembles the vampire Lestat’s tomb in the film version of Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire. At press time, the cemetery was closed for renovation.

Also, Metairie Cemetery contains a collection of remarkable tombs and memorials for the likes of baseball Hall of Famer Mel Ott, bandleader Louis Prima, and several famed restaurateurs, including Popeyes fried chicken magnate Al Copeland.

Contributor Cheré Dastugue Coen is the author of Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana and the Viola Valentine paranormal mystery series.