Cemeteries Administrative Office 

1401 S. Randolph Street
Richmond, VA
23220-6712 USA
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(804) 646-1401

Owners of lots and grave sites in City-owned and operated cemeteries are reminded that according to City Code all flowers, decorations and non approved vases must be removed from lots and grave sites by March 1. This is to allow for the Cemeteries Division of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities to conduct its annual spring cleanup.

According to City Code, any items left on the ground can and will be collected and disposed of by cemetery staff. New flower arrangements may be placed on grave sites and on lots on the third Saturday in March. Floral arrangements that are on monuments or memorials, or in vases on monuments or memorials, do not need to be removed for the cleanup. All flowers that are not in vases on the headstones will be removed

City-owned cemeteries include Barton Heights, Shockoe Hill, Oakwood, Riverview, Maury and Mount Olivet.

QUESTIONS?

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

PRCF Cemeteries Charges and Fees

Inactive Cemeteries

The city also maintains the inactive Barton Heights Cemeteries located between St. James Street and Lamb Avenue. In 1815 the "Burying Ground Society of the Free People of Color" established its first cemetery here. That cemetery became known as Cedarwood. Five more cemeteries were established adjoining Cedarwood. These cemeteries were established by the burial society and/or religious organizations. The other cemeteries are Sons and Daughters of Ham, Ebenezer, Methodist, Sycamore and Union Mechanics.

The Barton Heights Cemeteries are on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.

Historic Cemeteries

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

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.