Smyrna Memorial Cemetery in Smyrna, Georgia, offers a quiet but important link to the city’s early history. Located near Memorial Place and Atlanta Road, just steps from Smyrna Market Village, the cemetery is traditionally said to have been founded by Smyrna Methodist Church in 1838. Today, it stands as one of the city’s most significant historic sites and a place where visitors can connect with generations of Smyrna residents.
The cemetery is the final resting place of many notable local figures, including John Moore, who served as Smyrna’s first mayor after the city was incorporated on Aug. 23, 1872. Although 638 people are believed to be buried there, only about 238 graves are marked with headstones. A 1999 archaeological survey identified 395 graves that had previously been lost to history, underscoring how much of the cemetery’s story had faded from view over time.
The earliest marked grave is that of Elijah H. Fleming, who died on April 8, 1848. His daughter Mary, who died on March 14, 1858, at about 17 years old, has the second-oldest marked grave.