Rose Hill Cemetery damaged archway restored

A restored archway leading into the Rose Hill Cemetery now stands tall after being worked on for the past six months. The restoration comes after a vehicle collided with the structure, leaving the archway as a safety hazard.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A restored archway leading into the Rose Hill Cemetery now stands tall after being worked on for the past six months. The restoration comes after a vehicle collided with the structure, leaving the archway as a safety hazard.

“We were scared the whole thing would collapse,” Macon-Bibb County Parks and Beautification Director Michael Glisson said. Glisson says following the incident, the county immediately roped off the area, instructed visitors to use the other entrances and got to work finding the person who would spearhead the repairs.

That person was Bill Causey.

Causey is a former employee for the county who was hired as a consultant in 2021 to work on other restoration efforts throughout the cemetery, which has been open since 1840.

“The first thing I did was bring in a structural engineer,” Causey said. The main concern was whether or not the structure could be repaired in place or needed to be demolished and rebuilt. The engineer found that the structure could be repaired without being demolished, which cost the county $40,000 of SPLOST funds.

Causey says finishing touches include grassing, cleaning and a gate installation. He says the gate at the archway will remain closed and visitors will need to go through one of the other two entrances to access the cemetery.

Glisson says the other two entrances may see some upgrades as well, though no official plan has been announced.