The Decatur Cemetery is a historic graveyard within the City of Decatur, Georgia.HistoryThe Decatur Cemetery is the oldest burial ground in the Atlanta metropolitan area, and it is believed to have been used even before Decatur's 1823 incorporation.In 1832, an act by the local legislature created “Commissioners for the Decatur Burial Ground.” Numerous Civil War veterans were buried in the Decatur Cemetery, mostly in the 8acre region now referred to as, "The Old Cemetery". The Cemetery's "Well House" was built in 1881.TodayThe Decatur Cemetery has expanded to and contains well over 20,000 graves. A special section exists for cremated burials; the cemetery also contains a pond stocked with fish. This pond is also home to swans, ducks and turtles, and is a stopping place for Canada geese on migration. The cemetery is bordered by a several acre forest, which borders the Glennwood Estates neighborhood.FeaturesThe forested ravine east of the cemetery includes a newly completed pedestrian path that winds over a branch of Peachtree Creek. A small waterfall is just south of the southern bridge.At the southeast corner of the cemetery is found a grove of giant bamboo, some with trunks over 20 cm in diameter. A short path leads through this grove to the end of the Ponce de Leon Court Historic District.
