Although Liz Kashurba has lived in the Richmond area for more than 20 years, she had never been to Hollywood Cemetery until recently.

Kashurba, 50, of Chesterfield County was among 14 people who took a walking tour of the cemetery. She has a book about the cemetery's history but decided to take a guided tour so she wouldn't miss anything, she said.

The two-hour hike took her past the graves of Presidents John Tyler and James Monroe in the presidential loop, which at the highest point of the cemetery overlooks the James River.

The cemetery also is the resting place of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, surgeon Hunter McGuire and Gens. George Pickett and J.E.B. Stuart, along with about 18,000 Confederate soldiers.

Also buried there are patriot John Randolph; Lewis Ginter, who developed several Richmond landmarks including The Jefferson Hotel, property that became Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden and the Ginter Park residential area; Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Ellen Glasgow; and Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.

"Living in Richmond and then coming here, you hear a lot of names that you've heard around the city a lot," Kashurba said.

Those taking the tour could get a glimpse of swimmers and sunbathers on the rocks of the James and see, but not hear, traffic on the Lee Bridge nearby.

Most interesting to Kashurba was tour guide Kathy Whittington's explanation of headstone symbols. An urn represents death; a drape signifies the end or closing of something.

"You're learning something while you're experiencing something," Kashurba said.

Valentine Richmond History Center tour director Linda Krinsky said about 1,000 people take the tour every year.

"It's just a beautiful place to walk, even if you're not familiar with anyone buried there," she said.
Contact Lindsay Machak at (804) 649-6243 or lmachak@timesdispatch.com.