Elmwood Cemetery, conveniently located in the ghetto, close to the Stax Museum. When Elmwood was first opened it was on the outskirts of town but is now nestled next to an interstate and the surrounding housing and industry looks like Detroit. This cemetery has lots of huge tomb stones, statues, and family crypts.
My daughter went to tour Elmwood years ago when she was at the Bodine School. The cemetery is on the National Register of Historic Places, so expect a history lesson. We came to pay our respects to some of Memphis’ finest by taking the 1 hour audio tour. The gates close at 4:30, so be sure to arrive there with time to finish the tour. The audio tour comes with an audio CD and map. Listen carefully because it is easy to take a wrong turn and end up with the dead (and obviously miss part of the tour). There are markers indicating where to stop. You will learn about historic and famous Memphians (most you probably never heard of) buried at Elmwood and about some of the symbolism on the monuments.
Elmwood is chock full of colorful local leaders, entertainers and clergy from bygone eras. This works in well with Elmwood’s slogan “be part of Memphis history”.
We found the tour to be interesting although a bit drawn out at times. Although the stops were marked, the addition of numbers would have assured us that we were in the correct location and allowed us to skip certain exhibits.
Like many attractions, Elmwood has a gift ship. I was a bit disappointed because instead of the expected chazari such as key chains or personalized tombstone shaped paper weights, they had maps and books detailing the trees and graves on the grounds. But don’t despair; there is a full service tombstone store right outside the gates.
Recommendation: Great for history buffs. Most kids will find this tour boring unless they are forced to go as a school field trip.
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