{"nrhp_refnum":"80001188","name":"Old City Cemetery","other_names":["Linwood Cemetery"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Linwood Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Columbus","county":"Muscogee County","state":"GA","lat":32.476618430500054,"lon":-84.98362767228797,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-09-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A city cemetery on Linwood Boulevard in Columbus, Muscogee County, Georgia, about 28.66 acres, included in Edward Lloyd Thomas' 1828 plan of the city. Known historically as the Old (City) Cemetery and later as Linwood Cemetery.","why_significant":"The form argues it is significant for sculpture and art, with elaborate and simple tombstones and monuments topped by marble figures. It is also significant for local history as Columbus' oldest public cemetery. It holds over 200 Confederate soldiers and prominent citizens, including Dr. John Pemberton, originator of the Coca-Cola formula.","narrative":"Linwood Cemetery, originally called the Old (City) Cemetery, is the oldest public burial ground in Columbus, Georgia. It was part of surveyor Edward Lloyd Thomas' 1828 city plan, and tradition holds that the burial of his son that year began its use, though some marked graves may be older. A main east-west corridor with cross lanes serves family plots enclosed by brick walls and granite, cast iron or wrought iron rails. Markers range from simple carved stones to Victorian Gothic and Egyptian Revival monuments, some topped with marble figures. Cedar and oak trees are irregularly planted, and the ground rises sharply at the east entrance before sloping west. The city council named it Linwood in 1894, probably after Caroline Lee Hentz's novel Ernest Linwood. Burials include Dr. John Pemberton, Gen. Henry Lewis Benning, Leslie DeVotie, and more than 200 Confederate soldiers from every Confederate state. Its sculpture and local history led to its listing.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Included in Edward Lloyd Thomas' original plan of Columbus in 1828","architectural_style":"Variety of styles including Victorian Gothic and Egyptian Revival markers","criteria":[],"status_note":"Current use is a city cemetery, owned by the Columbus Consolidated Government; the form says it still serves as a burial place.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:40.115605-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/80001188.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001188/5dcd75b4b5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001188/5dcd75b4b5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cynthia Jennings","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_City_Cemetery.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Cynthia Jennings</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_City_Cemetery.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93206504","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_City_Cemetery_(Columbus,_Georgia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7083681"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/muscogee-county/old-city-cemetery-80001188/"}