Audio tours of Resthaven cemetery available at city historical museum

Self-guided audio tours of Washington's historic Resthaven Cemetery are now available from the Washington Historical Museum.

Narrated by Robert Willingham Jr. and produced by New South Productions, the 30-minute tour offers brief glimpses into the lives of 14 prominent Washington figures that are buried at the cemetery, including Robert Toombs, Eliza Frances Andrews, John Alexander Stevens, and Edmund Templar Shubrick.

"Resthaven Cemetery is often overlooked by visitors because of its unknown location, which is unfortunate because it contains such a wealth of historical significance in all aspects. From its design, to its gravesite markers to its inhabitants, it's a visually fascinating collection detailing our heritage," said Stephanie Macchia, curator of the Washington Historical Museum. "Our goal with the audio tour is to draw attention to the cemetery with a contemporary three-dimensional experience that exposes tourists to the contributions residents have made to Southern history over the past 200 years."

In addition to prominent figures in the cemetery, Willingham's nar- rative also touches briefly upon funerary art, the naming of Resthaven Cemetery and the various graves of children buried there.

"Walking among the family plots and listening to the audio tour really gives you an interesting perspective. It brings home the fact that these were real people who loved, lived, and ultimately died in Washington. If it were not for their individual contributions and those of others before them, we would not be able to enjoy the city of Washington today," said Macchia. "Even though they are no longer living, we still have plenty to learn from them."

The self guided audio tour of Resthaven Cemetery is now available at the Washington Historical Museum, located at 308 East Robert Toombs Ave. The price for the audio tour is $5 per person, with special group rates available. It is offered from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday Saturday and Sunday from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Additional self-guided audio tours will be available soon including Women of the Civil War, and Funerary Architecture. New South plans to expand its audio tours to other historic sites this summer.

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