Events
Visitors are welcome to step back into history and experience eighty acres of stately trees and statuary in the beautiful blend of nature and art that is Elmwood Cemetery.
Please come by the Victorian Carpenter Gothic Cottage which serves as our Visitor Center for maps, audio tours, picnic tables and handicap accessible restrooms. Research assistance is also available in the cottage, and security is on the grounds during business hours.
There is no charge to visit Elmwood.
Public Docent Walking Tour
For more than a decade, the volunteer Elmwood docents have led tours of the cemetery grounds. These all-walking tours are open to the public. Tours leave the Cottage at 10:30 a.m. and last about 90 minutes. The cost is $10/person and no advance registration is required. We recommend weather-appropriate clothing and sturdy walking shoes for this tour.
Holiday Tea & Tour
Take time out from the hustle and bustle and enjoy a lovely afternoon tea at Elmwood. After tea, which will includes scones, brownies and lemon squares...and, of course, tea...there will be an abbreviated tour of the cemetery grounds. What a grand way to spend an afternoon!
Comfortable walking shoes and weather-appropriate clothing is recommended. The Tea & Tour is $15 per person and advance registration is required. This event begins at 2:00 p.m.
Cotton Men of Elmwood
Join retired cotton man Bob Acree and historian Jimmy Ogle as they recount the story of King Cotton through the lives of the men- now Elmwood residents- who brokered it during Memphis' early years. This presentation will illuminate the glory days of Cotton Row.
This lunch & lecture presentation begins at noon in the Lord's Chapel. Admission is $12; advance registration is required.
Enduring Love: A Special Tour of Elmwood
"They do not love that do not show their love. The course of true love never did run smooth. Love is a familiar. Love is a devil. There is no evil angel but Love." -William Shakespeare
Join Assistant Director Jody Schmidt as she leads a tour based on the love stories to be found at Elmwood. The stories range from inspirational and romantic to unnerving. This tour is an all-walking tour and will last approximately an hour and a half. Weather-proof clothing and comfortable walking shoes are recommended. Admission is $15/person.
Enduring Love
This especially sweet lunch & lecture presentation reveals the affectionate side of Elmwood's residents. Founded during the Victorian Era, there are many symbols of love on the ornate monuments in the cemetery. Join Assistant Director Jody Schmidt as she recounts the love symbolism in the stones and the beautiful, tender, and even sometimes tragic love stories as told through the lives of those who rest at Elmwood.
This event requires advance registration and begins in the Lord's Chapel at noon. Admission is $12 per adult.
Memphis Women of the Progressive Movement
Elmwood's former Executive Director and historian Frances Catmur presents the story of the women who championed the Progressive Era in America. This talk will focus on the suffrage of women through the lives of the suffragists buried at Elmwood. This presentation takes place during Women's History Month.
Advance registration for this presentation is required. Admission is $12 per adult.