Grave of John Wilkes Booth

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(01-23-2017 03:55 PM)PaigeBooth Wrote:  I had a great experience when I first visited the cemetery about two years ago. There are maps of the cemetery which you can pick up when you arrive. In addition to the Booth family plot, there are other notable people buried at Green Mount Cemetery, including Harriet Lane, Confederate Generls Joe Johnston and Isaac Trimble, and Reverdy Johnson. Also, the Weaver Vault is not to miss. That is where JWB's remains where kept prior to his burial.

Although the cemetery does close at a certain hour, from my experience it is perfectly safe to visit. The only hazardous part of the cemetery that I encountered was that many of the stones are very old and weak (the cemetery dates back to the 1830's) So people with young children who visit need to be careful their children do not try to push or climb these heavy, fragile stones.

Thanks for the update, Paige. We should also mention that there are periodic, guided tours of Green Mount.

Thanks for mentioning Gen. Isaac Trimble. His grave was another consideration during the court case regarding Booth's exhumation. If I remember correctly, the General's grave is very near to the Booth plot, and one of the chief administrators of Green Mount was Bill Trimble, grandson or great-grandson to the General. He was concerned about the proximity as well as that of other graves - including the other Booths - being trampled upon and damaged by crowds and reporters that might gather for such an event.

I was raised with a grandmother and mother who enjoyed roaming old cemeteries, and I remember from an early age being admonished not to step on other people's graves. In wet seasons, this can be a problem; and the caretakers at Green Mount also pointed out that they have underground water issues in that particular section of the cemetery which have contributed to routine damage of grounds and even grave interiors.