Cemeteries Administrative Office 

1401 S. Randolph Street
Richmond, VA 23220
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(804) 646-1401

Notice to Lot Owners 

Reminder: In accordance with the City Code, all flowers, floral arrangements, decorations, and wreaths, including those placed on top of monuments and not secured in a flower saddle, must be removed by the lot owner no later than March 1 of each year in all City-owned cemeteries. 

These items may be returned to the cemetery on or after the third Saturday in March. 

Per City Code, any items left on the ground after March 1 are subject to removal and disposal by cemetery staff.  The Cemeteries Division of the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities will conduct cemetery cleanup operations every six weeks, removing any items that do not comply with the Code. 

City-owned cemeteries include Barton Heights, Shockoe Hill, Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground, Oakwood, Riverview, Maury, East End, Evergreen, Forest View, St. John's, and Mt. Olivet.

QUESTIONS?

Call 804-646-1401 or 804-646-1402, Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Active Cemeteries:

PRCF Cemeteries Charges and Fees

Historic Cemeteries:

Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities operate seven municipal cemeteries. Although all of the cemeteries have historical interest, these are particularly noteworthy are the following:

Barton Heights Cemetery:

The Barton Heights Cemeteries were established in 1815 by a group of Free Black Richmond residents known as the “Burying Ground Society of the Free People of Color” and comprise a 12.76-acre collection of six distinct cemeteries, serving as the final resting place of thousands of African Americans. The cemeteries provided an alternative to Shockoe Bottom’s “Burial Ground for Negroes.” These cemeteries were active between 1815 and 1904 and include Cedarwood Cemetery (formerly Phoenix Cemetery), Union Mechanics (formerly Union Burial Ground), Methodist, Sycamore, Ebenezer, and the Sons and Daughters of Ham burial grounds. The cemeteries are the final resting place for Richmond notaries, including former Richmond City Councilmen Josiah Crump, Joseph E. Farrar, and Richard G. Forrester, Richmond Poet and Paster D.W. Davis, and Richmond Social Reformer and Civil Leader Lucy Goode Brooks. The Barton Cemeteries are located between St. James Street and Lamb Avenue and are on the Virginia Landmarks Registry and the National Register of Historic Places. 

For more information, contact the Descendants Council of Greater RVA at descendantscouncilva@gmail.com

Colored Paupers Cemetery (Garden of Lilies):

This historic 4.59-acre cemetery was established in 1895 by William Forrester as part of Greenwood Memorial Cemetery, now known as Oakwood Cemetery. Affectionately called the Garden of Lilies, this sacred burial ground is the final resting place for children (infants to age 12) who lived in orphanages, asylums, hospitals, or on the streets of Richmond. It is named in tribute to the delicate lives it holds. 

Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground:

The Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground, established by the City of Richmond in 1816, served as a final resting place for both free and enslaved African Americans until its closure in 1879.  It is believed to contain the remains of more than 22,000 individuals, making it one of the most extensive African burial grounds in the United States. 

The historic footprint of the burying ground once spanned approximately 31 acres. Today, the City of Richmond owns a 1.2-acre parcel at 1305 N. 5^th Street. In November 2024, this parcel was formally designated as an official cemetery by the Richmond City Council (Ordinance No. 2024-285).  This designation ensures the land will be preserved both as a historic African American cemetery and as a public green space. The remainder of the original site is divided among various owners. 

The history of the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground is complex, marked not only by its vital role as a sacred burial ground but also by decades of neglect and desecration. Over time, infrastructure projects, including road construction and the expansion of I-64, encroached upon and disrupted the site. The city-owned parcel was previously used for commercial purposes, including a gas station and a billboard. Its recent recognition and protection as a cemetery represent an essential step toward honoring those interred and safeguarding the site for future generations.

East End Cemetery:

East End Cemetery is a historic African American burial ground. Originally incorporated as Greenwood Cemetery, it was founded in 1891 by a group of prominent African Americans in Richmond and was renamed East End Cemetery in 1897.  The burial grounds straddle Henrico County and the City of Richmond and remained active until 2013. The site spans over 20 acres and serves as the final resting place of more than 17,500 African Americans, including some of Richmond’s most influential business owners, doctors, lawyers, educators, and community leaders. 

For more information, contact the Friends of East End at https://www.facebook.com/eastendcemeteryproject/ or friendsofeastend@gmail.com.

Evergreen Cemetery:

Spanning 59 acres, Evergreen Cemetery is a historic African American burial ground founded by the Evergreen Cemetery Company in 1891, during the height of the Jim Crow era.  It is located in Richmond’s east end on East Richmond Road and across from Stony Run Creek and adjoins East End Cemetery. It contains over 10,000 burial plots, possibly tens of thousands more.  It is the final resting place of some of Richmond’s most influential African Americans, including Mrs. Maggie L. Walker, Mr. John Mitchell, Jr., and Rev. J. Andrew Bowler.

Forest View Cemetery:

Located on Richmond’s Southside, Forest View Cemetery is believed to be a slave cemetery. It appeared on a 1898 map and is thought to be much older. A Geophysical Investigation Report identified 117 likely graves, possibly more. The location is registered with the Department of Historic Resources, but no grave markers or genealogical records exist to help tell its story.  

For more information, contact the Friends of Forest at https://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfForestViewCemetery/ or friendsofforestviewcemetery@gmail.com

Shockoe Hill Cemetery:

Located in the downtown area of Richmond on Hospital Street. Within its grounds are buried such luminaries as John Marshall, the revered U.S. Supreme Court Justice; Elmira Shelton, said to be Edgar Allan Poe's fiance and inspiration for the "Lost Lenore" of his poem, "The Raven"; John Allan, Poe's boyhood friend; Peter Francisco, the Revolutionary War Hero; 220 Confederate and 577 Union soldiers; and Elizabeth Van Lew, the Union spy who operated a "safe" house during the War Between the States. This cemetery is on the Virginia Landmarks Register and National Register of Historic Places. 

For more information, call (804) 646-1291 or visit the Friends of Shockoe Hill Cemetery.

Oakwood Cemetery (an active cemetery):

Located at 3101 Nine Mile Rd. It is the final resting place of 17,000 Confederate soldiers, casualties from several battles fought in the Richmond area during the War Between the States. According to information in the book entitled, "The Dahlgren Affair" by Duane Schultz, Yankee Colonel Dahlgren was buried in a secret grave in Oakwood Cemetery in March 1864 and removed by Elizabeth Van Lew under cover of night on April 6, 1864. The body was taken out of Richmond by Van Lew under a wagonload of peach trees and reburied the next day on a farm at Hungary Station. His body was returned to Philadelphia in October 1865 for burial in North Hill Cemetery. Office hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Genealogy by appointment only. 

For more information, call (804) 646-4473.

Historic St. John's Church Cemetery:

Located on the grounds of St. John's Church, in Richmond's oldest neighborhood, Church Hill, at 24th and Broad Streets. The City owns the Broad Street side of the cemetery. The cemetery is the resting place of Elizabeth Arnold Poe, the mother of the famous poet, Edgar Allan Poe and George Wythe, one of the signers of our nation's Declaration of Independence. The church is the site of Patrick Henry's rousing, "Give me liberty or give me death!" speech. 

The dates and times for reenactments Patrick Henry's famous speech can be obtained by calling St. John's Church at (804) 649-0263.