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Evergreen Cemetery
"I always remember an epitaph which is in the cemetery at Tombstone, Arizona. It says: 'Here lies Jack Williams. He done his damnedest.' I think that is the greatest epitaph a man can have."
 - Harry S. Truman, 33rd president of the United States (1884 - 1972)

 

 

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What's in a Name?

Fitzgerald's roots in the Civil War and its remarkable founding story are told through its streets named for Yank and Reb Generals. The town's history is also revealed in the street names in Evergreen Cemetery, the same name as the cemetery over which the famous Civil War Battle at Gettysburg was fought.

The story of that battle is told in the street names in the historical northwest section of the cemetery, west of the Cemetery Road entrance. Remarkably, the area was laid out in a manner which mimics the terrain and army positions of the battle. Look for Taneytown Road, Cemetery Ridge Road, Emmitsburg Road and Seminary Ridge Road and Little Round Top Lane, named for the hill where Colonel Lawrence Chamberlain led a daring bayonet charge at Gettysburg.

The founding story of Fitzgerald is told in all the other street signs. In the south section you will find Drew Brothers Road which honors the family who sold the original land on which the Colony City was established. Swan Lane is named for the two-decker steamer on which the Drew family traveled from North Carolina to South Georgia. P. H. Fitzgerald Drive celebrates the founder of Fitzgerald, an Indiana pension attorney for Union soldiers who conceived the idea of this veterans' colony in the south, which became his namesake. Midway Avenue was the main thoroughfare through Shacktown, a collection of pine stacks where thousands of colonists lived in the founding days. Confederate Lane and Union Road run in front of graves of these pioneering veterans. Palace Road recognizes the Corn and Cotton Palace, a huge structure built in 1896 where Union and Confederate veterans - former enemies who founded Fitzgerald - "marched as one" for the first time behind one flag.

Directions to the Evergreen Cemetery

From the Blue and Gray Museum, take
Central Avenue east two blocks to Main
Street, turn right. Follow main 7 blocks
to Lemon and turn left. follow Lemon
8 blocks to blinking light at Monitor,
where Lemon becomes Evergreen.
Continue straight and go through
the next blinking light at
Benjamin Hill Drive and then turn right
into the main Gate at Evergreen Cemetery.

Touring Information

Evergreen Cemetery tour booklets providing maps and detailed information about more than 30 founding pioneers and veterans are available by mail at the Tourism Office, 1155 Main Street, P O Box 425, Fitzgerald, GA 31750 or email

 

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