I went here on a Saturday morning. It is free to visit. Took a paid 90-minute historic walking tour…read more(Highlights of Hollywood Cemetery Walking Tour) by The Valentine. Tour started at the entrance and we went to notable spots. We were only 7 in the tour. Our tour guide Doug who has been doing it for 14 seasons was very knowledgeable. He shared interesting facts, architectural/art styles, history of people and places/Richmond. We saw the iron dog, graves of the 2 US presidents (John Monroe's Tomb and John Tyler's Monument), Lewis Ginter Mausoleum, Palmer Chapel Mausoleum (and the overlooks on its sides), among others. It was a nice tour. I learned a lot. If you plan to go there on your own, there's a map from the website that you can download and use where there are markers for the notable spots. Google Maps does not have these spots in it. The restroom can be found on the left shortly after entering the cemetery. Lewis Ginter Mausoleum shows Victorian era architecture. When you peek through the door, you would see the nice Tiffany glass artwork behind. With its history, nice views overlooking the James River, the peaceful and quiet environment, this is a place worth checking out.

This cemetery is beautiful and big. Lots of unique headstones. It's sprawling with lots of hills so…read morewear your walking shoes.

This is a local attraction that can easily be missed. It is located right off of a highway entrance…read moreramp and on the Historic Slave Trail. The grounds are well maintained and kept. It is opposite of the side that the Lumpkin Slave Jail is located. You can take an underpass to walk freely between the two sites. This was the first designated burial spot for the city's enslaved and free residents of African ancestry, dating back to as late as 1799. This one and a half acres was considered poor quality and had no other use but the cemetery. It was also the site of public hangings. Other names the site has been known as Potter's Field, were Burying-ground for Coloured persons, Grave Yard for Free People of Color" and Grave Yard for For Slaves You will find a memorial obelisk here with a plaque dedicating the cemetery. Their is also a spot with a couple of information placards that look likes a spot that people hold rituals and leave sacrifices/personal effects. The vast majority of the grounds is low cut green space. Additionally, there is a vacant and decrepit building there. I do not know what it was prior, but it looks historical. This is a nice place to visit. I would not consider it a long stop, so I would probably couple it with a visit to the old Lumpkin Slave Jail and other nearby attractions to maximize your time.

Be on the look out because this landmark is easy to miss.This plaque is located on a bridge that…read moregoes over a park. Attached to the plaque is a rope going over the bridge and at the end of the rope is a noose. The area below was closed due to construction at the time of my visit. I apologize for no further information.

Tour books will guide you to Hollywood Cemetery, but to learn more about Richmond's Black history,…read moredrive to Evergreen Cemetery. Once a prominent Black cemetery, it went into disrepair. Thanks to a group of people, it's being restored to honor the lives buried there. Take time to read the plaques near the entrance and be respectful if you visit.

It's hard to rank a cemetery. This one's not as cool as Hollywood, as far as cool cemeteries go,…read morebut I would still like to draw some attention to it. This is the final resting place of Maggie L Walker, the locally famous mixed woman who was the first woman of African descent to found a bank. She is buried here along with several other prominent black Richmonders from throughout history. The sad thing is that Evergreen Cemetery (and Eastend Cemetery right next to it) is largely in a state of disrepair. The central plots look nice, as does Ms. Walker's grave, but the edges of the graveyard are overgrown, disheveled, tombstones toppled over, just not looking good. It's in pretty bad shape. So if you guys want to help get this historic cemetery to the level of respect it deserves, I would contact the Enrichmond foundation and do some volunteering on the weekends to help clean it up.

Oakwood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia is estimated to contain the remains of as many as 17,000…read moreConfederate soldiers. During the early months of the war, it was determined that a cemetery needed to be established for the burial of the large numbers of military casualties inflicted by the battles around the Confederate capital. Nearly all of the Confederate dead buried at Oakwood came from the hospitals and camps at the eastern end of Richmond. Men who died at Chimborazo and Howard's Grove hospitals almost always went to Oakwood. The majority of soldiers buried at Oakwood received an individual grave, although during certain periods--they were stacked. Most of the graves with multiple burials contain only two men. There are a very few known instances of 3-5 men in one grave. A South Carolina soldier witnessed the burial process at Oakwood in 1862 and took the time to write about it. "The hearse comes along with its load of corpses and on the brink of each grave it deposited a coffin on which is placarded the name, company and regiment of the soldier whose remains it contained. No vault was dug, the coffin was lowered into this ditch-like grave and without ceremony the dirt was shoved in, and a small board bearing the number of the grave was placed at the head...."

We attended a funeral of a friend and were in disbelief at the unprofessional and rude behavior…read more Not only that, but we were insulted while we were there. I really cannot even believe it. Horrible place and horrible people

I would be more interested in your services if you would post a price list, as you are supposed to…read moredo. These electronic standards should be enforced, so the public can comparison shop and become educated about the process and cost BEFORE having to sign up for meetings/calls.

So many Unknowns…read more Richmond National Cemetery is one of those in the traditional vein. The same white markers precisely placed in the flat ground. There are few large trees providing shade, but in the bright sun, it's still a stark sight. At first, I noticed a handful of "2 Unknown US Soldiers" on the headstone, but as I walked through the markers, I began to notice rows and rows of unknowns, some with one, some with two, some with four designated on the headstone. The farther I walked toward the back of the grounds, the more Unknowns I saw. I don't remember ever being in in a national cemetery with that many in one place. It's sad and depressing. All those people -- lost to history. It's good they're still honored here. Richmond National Cemetery is in a noisy area, backing up to a residential neighborhood with the music of a typical day for the living heard in the air.

I would NEVER do business with Chile's funeral home and I don't recommend anyone else to neither…read more This was MY first time ever having to bury anyone. I did advise O P Chiles of this which he never acknowledged and I should've ended things there. He proceeded to only ask about the funding and kept pushing the payment due date ahead. In the contract it stated funds were due within 48 hours of service and when I asked him about this, he pushed the date back and stated "Just in case you want to make any changes." I said ok, so then once he printed out the payment contract, he pushed it up another day, so now he would've been getting paid almost a week before the services. He was very insensitive when I called to advise him we were having financial difficulties and stated to me "Didn't you think about that before you met with me yesterday?."Our circumstances changed and he was very rude about it. He also stated to me verbatim "If you don't want to work with me, you don't have to. He is such a nasty person for no reason. He lead me to believe my loved one's body was in his possession, which I didn't know a release form had to be signed, because as I stated, I was new to this and he didn't explain anything and was just worried about the money. I lost my only sibling and I initially went here for them to take care of my loved one, but I'm glad things went the way they did and we went with another funeral home.