The Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg holds tight to the past while embracing it's future. From Easter egg hunts to Civil War re-enactments, this cemetery is all about education and civic involvement and nothing showcases those notions better than the museums that are housed on the property.
The Cemetery Center, within the Old City Cemetery, houses the Mourning Museum with permanent exhibits as well as revolving art exhibits, and a small gift shop. Planning to travel back to 1899 and attend a funeral? Then this is the place to get a sense of how one would follow American mourning rituals of the 19th and 20th century. The staff are as friendly and knowledgeable as you could hope, for as they tell story after story behind the different artifacts. The space is bright and engaging and your eyes are drawn from one exhibit to the next. Whether it be mourning attire/etiquette, Victorian hair work, or the evolution of funerary practices, this place is a hidden gem of history. There are signs along the way once you get into the cemetery itself that will guide you to the Center itself, but it is right across from the Pest House Medical Museum which recreates a Civil War "House of Pestilence." It is also nearby well the Hearse House, Caretaker's Museum, and Station Depot Museum.
The Hearse House and Caretaker's Museum is one in the same, you get to take a peek into the past with this permanent display that houses a full funeral carriage, tools of the gravestone-making trade and several other implements including a coffin here and there. The display itself is well kept and the carriage is restored to near mint condition; you can't go into the building but the entire front side is nothing but windows which is more than enough to feast your eyes upon the antiques.
The Station Depot is another little stop within in the cemetery, offering a glimpse of how railroads affected both the town and how the cemetery utilized the line from 1897-1937. This was the main mode of transportation during the aforementioned years and plaques dot the outside of this building telling the story of this unassuming little building and what it saw during its time in operation. In 1997 the dilapidated little depot got a breath of life when the board saw to restore it back to it's World-War-I-era self; after three years and a lot of man hours, it re-opened.
The newest addition is a chapel museum that was built to honor the many religious leaders who have been buried in the historic cemetery. This includes an old columbarium, holding urns that haven't been on display in decades.
Donations for upkeep are accepted and further projects but there is no charge to go visit.