Tiptoe Through the Tombstones: Murder & Mayhem Tour: Laurel Hill Cemetery 2023

Meet some of Thomasville’s earliest (and most scandalous) residents on a Tiptoe Through the Tombstones: Murder & Mayhem tour!

Not everything was always rosy in the Rose City. In honor of the upcoming spooky season, the Thomasville History Center invites all who are curious to join us on special editions of our Tiptoe Through the Tombstones Tours: Murder and Mayhem!

Our tour guides will lead you through the hallowed grounds while telling tales of the citizens of Thomas County. Some lived wild and dangerous lives; others met tragic ends. Among them, you will meet prominent businessmen, actresses on the stage, and unassuming neighbors who found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Hear their stories come to life and get a better picture of the characters who once inhabited our town. 

About Laurel Hill Cemetery:

Laurel Hill Cemetery is the largest public burial ground in Thomasville. Designed in the park-lawn style, cemeteries such as Laurel Hill became the most common type transforming burial grounds into places of recreation as well as remembrance. 

The earliest grave in Laurel Hill Cemetery is that of A. T. MacIntyre, who was interred in 1830.  In 1866, the City of Thomasville purchased a tract of land from C. J. Harris for $1,000 and offered lots for sale to the public for $20 to $40 each.

The Hebrew Cemetery (an original part of Laurel Hill) was a separate cemetery purchased by older Jewish citizens before the community purchased the cemetery on Vine Street. In the early 1920s, the few remaining claimants accepted an offer to take what they wished and turn the remainder over to the City to be managed as part of the original Laurel Hill Cemetery.