The Gaston Tomb (also known as the Stranger's Tomb) is a tomb in Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia. It was built in memory of William Gaston, a prominent merchant in Savannah who died in 1837. The tomb was built seven years later, initially in Savannah's Colonial Park Cemetery. It was moved to Bonaventure in 1873.[1][2]

The Gaston Tomb
The tomb pictured in 2018
Map
32°02′42″N 81°03′00″W / 32.04511°N 81.04999°W / 32.04511; -81.04999
LocationBonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
MaterialMarble
Completion date1844 (180 years ago) (1844)
Dedicated toWilliam Gaston

Standing immediately inside the cemetery's gates, one of the tomb's vaults was used as a temporary resting place for visitors to Savannah who died while in the city. It allowed time for the relatives of the deceased to make arrangements for their burial.[2][3]

Gaston, nicknamed The Perfect Host, was initially interred in New York Marble Cemetery in Manhattan, but was later removed to the tomb at the request of William Ker, Gaston's nephew.[1][2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Stories that lie within Bonaventure Cemetery". www.savannahnow.com. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Georgia, Historical Society; Johnson, Mandi Dale; Wilson, Amie Marie; Johnson, Mandi (November 1, 1998). Historic Bonaventure Cemetery: Photographs from the Collection of the Georgia Historical Society. Arcadia Publishing. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-7385-4201-0.
  3. ^ The Georgia Review. University of Georgia. 1951. p. 302.