Magnolia Cemetery, Historic cemetery in downtown Baton Rouge, United States.
Magnolia Cemetery is a 10-acre (4.0 ha) burial ground at 422 North 19th Street in Baton Rouge. Main Street borders it to the north and Florida Boulevard to the south, while 19th Street runs along the west side and 22nd Street along the east. The town bought the land from John Christian Buhler Jr. in August 1852, though some sources date burials here to the 1820s.
The cemetery was established in 1852 when its land was purchased from John Christian Buhler Jr. The site witnessed significant combat during the 1862 Battle of Baton Rouge, becoming a landscape marked by Civil War violence.
Magnolia Cemetery was the main burial ground for Baton Rouge's prominent citizens, white and African-American, from the 1820s to the 1970s, and interments continue today. Among the graves are sugar planter and philanthropist John Hill (1824–1910), novelist Lyle Saxon (1891–1946), and Confederate nurse Joanna Fox Waddill (1838–1899), called the "Florence Nightingale of the South".
The cemetery is located at 422 North 19th Street and is maintained by the Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge. Walking through allows visitors to explore the grounds at a leisurely pace and view the various gravestones and monuments throughout.
Every August the grounds host commemorative ceremonies honoring soldiers who fought during the Civil War battle that unfolded here. These annual gatherings keep the connection between the cemetery and the military history alive for visitors.
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