10. Cemetery

The last stop on a tour of Afton Villa is the cemetery, just a few steps off the parterre. Walled in by tall hedges of ligustrum and planted within by large old japonicas and azaleas, it forms a secret garden of its own.

 The original owner, Bartholemew Barrow, and his family lived in the 1790 house until 1839, and it is likely that some of his grandchildren who died in infancy as well as other family members were buried in this cemetery, many without markers, just clumps of violets over their graves as was the local custom.  Here also lie Bartholemew and his wife, Bethia Brantley Barrow, side by side under the handsome English box tombs of marble, each inscribed with their dates of birth and death.

Nearby, David Barrow, Bartholemew’s son, the builder of the great house who died in 1874, lies by his first wife, Sarah who died in 1846. Close to David and Sarah are the graves of some of their children who died in infancy, as many children did in those times from plaques of yellow and scarlet fever.  You’ll observe there are several obelisks that appear to the broken off at their tops – these tops were cut off purposely to signify the premature cutting off of life.

An elaborate marble obelisk that dominates the graveyard marks the resting place of David’s brother-in-law, Senator Alexander Barrow.  Alexander was born in Nashville, Tennessee, moved to Louisiana in 1823 and became a U.S. senator from that state in 1840.  A graduate of West Point and Princeton he married Mary Ann Barrow the daughter of his relative Bartholomew Barrow of Afton Villa.  Known as the “handsomest man in Washington,” he served in the U.S. Senate from 1840 until his death in 1846.  He was a brilliant speaker and debater, and his important addresses are today on file in the Library of Congress.

The funeral service for Senator Barrow was held in the U.S. Senate Chamber on December 21, 1846.  Following the funeral, the body was moved and interred in the family cemetery at Afton Villa.  Nowhere else in the garden is there more of a sense of peace or hallowed place than here where so much of Afton Villa’s origins and history lies buried.

When you are ready to exit the cemetery, please proceed up the steps and follow the brick walkway around to the left. When you reach the sundial again, turn right and proceed up the steps in front of you. At the top, turn right and proceed up the steps on your left to the gravel circle when you began your tour.

We would like to sincerely thank you for visiting Afton Villa Gardens and feel free to enjoy the gardens further.