Friends of Shockoe Hill Cemetery is a citizens’ group that works with the City of Richmond to maintain, improve and interpret one of the city’s oldest and most historic burial grounds. The Friends group is dedicated to its mission of ensuring the history and beauty of the cemetery are known and celebrated.
Shockoe Hill Cemetery, organized in 1820, was the first burial ground for white Richmonders to be conceived, planned, and maintained by the city. Chief Justice John Marshall, noted Unionist Elizabeth Van Lew, and Revolutionary War hero Peter Francisco are several of the figures known to history who found their rest there.
Of particular note are the many persons interred at Shockoe Hill who were central to the life of Edgar Allan Poe — including his foster parents John and Frances Allan, his beloved Elmira Royster Shelton, and Jane Craig Stanard, his first great poetic inspiration. Poe himself spent many hours at the cemetery, during his years in Richmond, visiting the graves of loved ones and friends.
In all, about 20,000 people rest at Shockoe Hill. They represent both the elite and working class, rich and poor, native and immigrant — all of whom had stories we can tell, and from whom we can learn. The Friends group helps bring about this greater understanding by giving regular tours, organizing volunteer work projects, planting flowers and other greenery, repairing damaged markers, and working with families and historical groups to place markers at unmarked graves.
In the 21st century, Shockoe Hill Cemetery aspires to fill many roles: an inviting greenspace near the bustle of downtown; a dynamic “classroom” of funerary sculpture and design; a quiet place for calm and reflection; and most of all, a physical and spiritual connection to the individuals who helped shape our common history. The “Friends of Shockoe Hill Cemetery” is proud to support this historic place in realizing these aspirations.
Donate to Friends of Shockoe Hill Cemetery