Westview Cemetery

Westview Cemetery, located in Atlanta, Georgia, is the largest civilian cemetery in the Southeastern United States, comprising more than 582acre, 50% of which is undeveloped. (Georgia National Cemetery, for military veterans and their families, covers 775 acres.) Westview includes the graves of more than 100,000 people.HistoryThe land that would become Westview Cemetery was the site of a portion of the Battle of Ezra Church, a Civil War battle. The cemetery was established in 1884 on Atlanta's west side when Oakland Cemetery was mostly filled out. Over 582acre were purchased by a private corporation, headed by E. P. McBurney. The main gate is one of the oldest standing structures in Atlanta.Structures Westview Abbey - a mausoleum and chapel, was built in 1943 and houses 11,444 entombments and space to hold cremated remains. 27 stained glass panels adorn the Romanesque chapel and depicts Jesus Christ's life from nativity through crucifixion and resurrection. A mural entitled Faith, Hope and Charity depicts four Christian parables in its artwork. The Receiving Tomb - was built in 1888 and once held bodies waiting to be processed and buried. Wagons, and in later years vehicles, carrying the deceased could not get down the muddy cemetery roads during heavy rains. The marble and brick receiving tomb was also used to house an excess of bodies during the Spanish influenza outbreak in 1918. The Water Tower - may be mistaken for a battlefield look-out point but was only used to hold water. The top of the tower is an example of a crenellated adornment, making it look more like a castle than the roof of a water tower.The Confederate Memorial- was erected by The Confederate Veterans Association of Fulton County to honor its fallen soldiers. The monument features a stone soldier holding a flag and standing on top of small cannonballs. Two Cohorn mortars lie just beyond a circle of Confederate graves and mark a path leading to the historic monument.