Old City Cemetery Museums and Arboretum

Old City Cemetery Museums and Arboretum Established in 1806, Old City Cemetery is Virginia's oldest municipal cemetery still in use today.
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It is the most visited attraction in the City of Lynchburg and one of Central Virginia’s most unique public gardens, Class II Arboretum, & so much more. The Old City Cemetery, established in 1806, is one of the oldest public cemeteries in the United States still in use today. Mayors and other prominent civic leaders, along with the city’s indigent and “strangers,” are among the estimated 15,000 pe

ople buried here. Two thirds of those interred here are of African descent, both enslaved and free. The cemetery’s Confederate section contains the graves of more than 2,200 soldiers from 14 states. Museums on the property interpret the diverse history of this rehabilitated graveyard and its inhabitants. Today, Old City Cemetery is the most visited historic site in the City of Lynchburg and is Central Virginia’s most unique public garden. It is a Virginia Historic Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places.

A huge Monday THANK YOU to R. Coffee Ltd. for renewing their support of Old City Cemetery! Please go in and show your s...
06/01/2026

A huge Monday THANK YOU to R. Coffee Ltd. for renewing their support of Old City Cemetery! Please go in and show your support!

Only 3 spots remaining for Consulting Rosarian Sandy Fisher's class on Heirloom Rose Marcotting (Cloning) on June 11. V...
05/30/2026

Only 3 spots remaining for Consulting Rosarian Sandy Fisher's class on Heirloom Rose Marcotting (Cloning) on June 11. Visit our special events page to register: https://www.gravegarden.org/occevents/

A huge thank you to Scott Hengerer and James River Private Wealth for renewing support of Old City Cemetery!
05/29/2026

A huge thank you to Scott Hengerer and James River Private Wealth for renewing support of Old City Cemetery!

More Sponsor Appreciation! Thank you to Bank of the James for their support of Old City Cemetery!
05/28/2026

More Sponsor Appreciation! Thank you to Bank of the James for their support of Old City Cemetery!

Old City Cemetery has many unique artifacts in its collections. One of the most interesting of those is the a 19th Cent...
05/27/2026

Old City Cemetery has many unique artifacts in its collections. One of the most interesting of those is the a 19th Century horse drawn hearse, which is displayed in the Hearse House located in OCC. The hearse was gifted to the cemetery by the Diuguid Family in the late 1990's and a structure was constructed to protect it from the elements as well as to tell the story of our groundskeeping efforts over the past 220 years. As part of Old City Cemetery's commitment to ensuring our history and artifacts will be available to future generations, we recently began preservation efforts to the Diuguid Horse Drawn Hearse. An inspection of the vehicle provided evidence that the wheels were structurally unsound and needed to be taken off and immersed in water to rehydrate the wooden elements. Volunteers and staff worked with a local corporation to complete this process and we are happy to report that the Hearse's wheels were reinstalled on the 27th of May. The staff of Old City Cemetery hope that you will visit us and learn more about our work and our collections.

Another Sponsor Spotlight! A huge thank you to Schewels Home for their continued support of Old City Cemetery!!
05/27/2026

Another Sponsor Spotlight! A huge thank you to Schewels Home for their continued support of Old City Cemetery!!

Our June 20th Marcotting Class with Sandy Fisher is now full. Please consider attending the June 11th class. Details a...
05/26/2026

Our June 20th Marcotting Class with Sandy Fisher is now full. Please consider attending the June 11th class. Details are available at

Please note that all visitors assume all liability while guests of the Old City Cemetery. April 2026 April 1-7: Cemetery Clean Up Week. Please remove any personal items from graves while we beautify our GraveGarden! April 17: Death Doulas in Lee Reading Room 8:30 am – 9:30 am. For more information...

Please support our 2026 Annual Sponsors! Without their generous support, we could not bring History and Horticulture to...
05/26/2026

Please support our 2026 Annual Sponsors! Without their generous support, we could not bring History and Horticulture to the greater Lynchburg community. Our sponsor spotlight today is Randolph College! THANK YOU!

A successful day with United Way Day of Caring thanks to Re/Max and BWXT! And the Hill City Master Gardeners. With thei...
05/20/2026

A successful day with United Way Day of Caring thanks to Re/Max and BWXT! And the Hill City Master Gardeners. With their help, we have several headstones cleaned for Memorial Day in the Soldier Section, new straw, a new gutter, and a fresh coat of paint for Morris, Sampson, and Baxter! Plus a fresh layer of mulch in the Pest House Garden. We couldn't have done this without their help. Thank you to United Way for creating this wonderful event, and thank you to Re/Max, BWXT, and the Master Gardeners for coming out and helping us with these tasks.

Address

401 Taylor Street
Lynchburg, VA
24501

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 3pm
Wednesday 10am - 3pm
Thursday 10am - 3pm
Friday 10am - 3pm
Saturday 10am - 3pm
Sunday 12am - 4pm

Telephone

14348471465

Website

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