Mount Olivet Cemetery is a 250-acre cemetery located in Nashville, Tennessee.

Mount Olivet has been continuously operated since its initial establishment in 1856. It serves as the final resting place for many of Middle Tennessee's political and business leaders, including several former governors of Tennessee, U.S. Senators, and U.S. Congressional Representatives. Additionally, "Confederate Circle" honors many who served on the Confederate side in the American Civil War. About 1,500 soldiers are buried there. In the 1990s, a funeral home was added to the grounds of Mount Olivet.

For many years, interrment at Mount Olivet was limited to white Protestants. Even though this policy was eliminated decades ago, tradition has dictated that this remains very largely the case. In part as a result, the adjacent Calvary Cemetery (to the west) serves a similar function for Middle Tennessee Catholics; the two facilities are separated only by an iron fence. Approximately one mile to the south is Greenwood Cemetery, where a large number of Middle Tennessee's most prominent African American residents are buried.

Mount Olivet Cemetery is located at 1101 Lebanon Road, approximately two miles (three km) east of downtown Nashville. It is open to the public during daylight hours.

Some of the notable people buried at Mount Olivet include:

• Adelicia Acklen , wealthy Nashville businesswoman and socialite
• William B. Bate, Governor of Tennessee fron 1883 to 1887
• John Bell, United States Senator and Presidential candidate
• Aaron V. Brown, Governor of Tennessee from 1845 to 1847
• Joseph Wellington Byrns, United States Congressman and Speaker of the House
• John Catron, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
• Meredith Poindexter Gentry , United States Congressman
• Felix Grundy, United States Senator and Attorney General
• Howell Edmunds Jackson, United States Senator and Supremem Court Justice
• Thomas A. Kercheval, Tennessee State Senator and Mayor of Nashville
• David Lipscomb, founder of Nashville Bible School (now Lipscomb University)
• Hill McAlister, Governor of Tennessee from 1933 to 1937
• Benton McMillin, Governor of Tennessee fron 1899 to 1903
• John Overton , friend of Andrew Jackson and one of the founders of Memphis, Tennessee
• Thomas G. Ryman , steamboat captain, Nashville businessman, and builder of Ryman Auditorium
• Vernon K. Stevenson , first president of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad
• Samuel Watkins , founder of Watkins Institute (now Watkins College of Art and Design )

References

• Wills, W. Ridley, II. A Walking Tour of Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Nashville, 1993.