LITTLE GRACIE

Little Gracie Watson was the daughter of a hotel manager in Savannah, GA, she was well-known and popular with everyone that stayed at the hotel.  Sadly, she passed away at the age of 6 years old from pneumonia in 1889. After her death, she became more popular and well known with people leaving gifts at her gravesite around Christmas time.  An iron fence was put up around her grave in 1999 to prevent any more damage to the statue at her gravesite.

It is said her ghost still roams around Johnson Square in Savannah, where the hotel used to stand. People report seeing a little girl in a white dress playing between the bushes and interacting with people sitting on a bench late at night. When I visited Bonaventure Cemetery in 2021, I knew very little about Gracie Watson and wasn’t looking for her grave. I was just admiring the old gravesites, some dating back to the Revolutionary War. When I stumbled upon Little Gracie’s grave, I felt a presence there of a little girl. 

Using the iron gate to create blurry edges in the photo, I wanted to give it an old-school film look and make it black and white just added to it.  If you’ve never visited Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA, I highly recommend it while visiting this historic city.

-Burke