Cemetery History
On March 10, 1846, Commodore Josiah Tattnall III, the final son to own Bonaventure Plantation, sold the 600 acres to Peter Wiltberger, a prominent businessman in Savannah. Wiltberger agreed to pay five thousand dollars for Bonaventure. The sale agreement excluded the lot of land used as the burial ground of the Tattnall family, but Wiltberger agreed to maintain the plot. Seventy acres of the northeastern corner of the Bonaventure tract were designated as a public cemetery. Seven years later, Peter Wiltberger was buried at Bonaventure.
On June 12, 1868, Major William H. Wiltberger, son of Peter, formed the Evergreen Cemetery Company. The first meeting of the stockholders in the company was held at the Pulaski Hotel, which Peter had opened in 1835. John Stoddard was elected Chairman of the Board, and William Wiltberger was elected President. At this first meeting, the stockholders agreed to negotiate with the Savannah City Council for the city's assuming care of the cemetery; the city, as reported at the second meeting, declined.
The by-laws evolved by the group regulated the sale of lots within the cemetery at 12½ cents per square foot; ten cents of all moneys received would be used for upkeep. Perpetual care was $50 for a lot of 300 square feet; $100 for a lot larger than 300 feet.
Evergreen Cemetery was purchased by the city of Savannah on July 7, 1907, and became Bonaventure Cemetery. The present cemetery encompasses one hundred acres maintained by the Savannah Department of Cemeteries.
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