Riverdale Cemetery in Columbus, Georgia, was established in 1890 after burial space at Linwood Cemetery, the oldest institution of the Columbus city government, had begun to run short. The city acquired additional land on 10th Avenue to create the new cemetery, which soon became another important resting place for people connected to the city’s growth and civic life. Many Columbus residents who played notable roles in the community’s history are buried there.
One of the cemetery’s most distinctive features is the brick building near the entrance, erected in 1915. It originally included a chapel, housing for the city sexton and a bell tower above an arched passageway used for funeral processions. That structure gives the cemetery an added architectural presence and reflects the formal role such grounds once played in public life.
Over time, Riverdale developed several special sections, including areas for military veterans, two sections for members of the Jewish community and a children’s section known as Baby Land. It is also home to a monument shaped like a circus tent, placed to honor those killed in a 1915 collision involving a circus train from the Con T. Kennedy Shows and a Central of Georgia passenger train.