Rose Hill Rambles return for festival

Spring in Macon brings warm weather, the Cherry Blossom Festival and the Rose Hill Ramble, a tradition woven into the city’s past.  

Rose Hill Cemetery — just off Riverside Drive and within walking distance of downtown Macon — was founded in 1840 and opened 17 years after Macon’s founding. This historic cemetery is the final resting place for Macon’s pioneers, titans of industry, politicians and ordinary people. Each of the 16,000 graves is linked to the story of a person’s life, and, over the last 56 years, these stories have been told in tours called “Rose Hill Rambles.” 

In the 1970s, concerned citizens organized to save Macon’s historic, antebellum architecture. Preserving these houses opened people’s eyes to the richness of Macon’s history, a history that naturally points to Rose Hill Cemetery.

Recognizing a need for organized tours, the Middle Georgia Historical Society recruited Calder Payne to lead rambles through Rose Hill. As a native of Macon, Payne knew many stories of the people who lay buried under the beautiful marble and granite monuments. In 1977, the first Rose Hill Ramble took place. 

Twice each year for more than a decade, Payne led large crowds eager to learn of Macon’s past. The Macon Telegraph reported that roughly 500 people attended the October 1982 Ramble. Over the years, the Rambles proved to be popular, with an average attendance of 100 people. 

Community members came to hear stories of Confederate soldiers, Irish saloon keepers, the Allman Brothers Band, architect Neel Reid, cemetery planner Simri Rose, and Lt. Bobby, a little brown terrier — all buried in Rose Hill.

In 1986, Payne hung up his ramble hat, but his notes were published in a book called “Rose Hill Rambles.”

The Rose Hill Ramble went dormant until 1990 when Jim Barfield, a high school history teacher and a well-known expert on Macon history, agreed to lead the rambles again.

Using Calder’s notes and adding new subjects, Barfield began leading bi-annual rambles that proved to be as popular as Payne’s. For many, the rambles in April and October were not to be missed. 

Over the years, other historians have stepped forward to lead tours in Rose Hill, but the Rose Hill Ramble became synonymous with Barfield, who regularly drew large crowds of more than 100 ramblers.

Barfield hung up his ramble hat in 2025. On the day of his last ramble, Macon officials declared that date to be “Jim Barfield Day.” The crowd of about 50 people enjoyed perfect weather and a lovely reception.

Rose Hill Rambles are now sponsored by the Historic Macon Foundation and led by Kathleen O’Neal and Liz Riley, two Macon natives with multiple generations of family buried in Rose Hill Cemetery.

Kathleen began leading tours in 2024 and Liz in 2025. 

Realizing that there are many more stories to be told, Liz and Kathleen have added a specialized tour focusing on the Allman Brothers Band. They have also expanded upon earlier rambles, added many new stories and increased the frequency of the rambles. 

During this year’s Cherry Blossom festival, the Historic Macon Foundation will sponsor three Rose Hill Rambles: one on March 21, one on March 25 and one on March 27.

Registration for these tours is available online. For more information, visit historicmacon.org.

Kathleen O’Neal and Liz Riley write a regular column about their ongoing Rose Hill Cemetery documentation work for The Macon Melody. See past columns at maconmelody.com.