Oconee Hill Cemetery: envisioning a living landscape

Oconee Hill Cemetery is an important historic landscape in the city of Athens, Georgia. However, management issues during the past decades have decreased its relevance to the local community. This thesis seeks to discover appropriate strategies to improve the current management approach at the cemetery. In order to do this, the thesis explores important background information such as the landscapes historical context, its current management structure, and current management issues. It also studies the opinions and values of current managers and cemetery visitors. Finally, it reviews successful management models that other cemetery management teams have adopted. By overlaying these threads of information, the thesis isolates a number of appropriate and feasible strategies for Oconee Hills future management. Included in these recommendations are changes to the cemeterys current management structure, an increased focus on public outreach, and the adoption of a master plan.