Welcome to The Grave Collector. This is a little slice of America from a history teacher who travels around the country and seeks the graves of those who made an impact in our world. I like to pay respects to celebrities, politicians, businessmen, athletes, and far more. Many people have a famous person buried near them and likely have no idea. I have traveled to wonderfully large, upkept cemeteries to overgrown, forgotten graveyards. I have been in mausoleums flooded by water to outdoor columbariums several stories high. I have been in burial plots devoted to just one religion to mixed yards full of all religions imaginable. 

A few rules I follow as I travel: 

-Look ahead to see who is buried just off your planned travel route. If you were to see my Google Map, there are hundred of graves marked in about 20 states presently. This way when I travel, I know who I can go see.

-Check the hours of your planned stop and realize cemeteries dedicated to a single religion are more likely to be closed on different particular days. Some are 24 hours as well, if they are in rural graveyards or do not have fences and posted hours.

-Be respectful of activities in the cemeteries. Frequently have I been in a cemetery where services have been going on at a plot. Keep your distance and be quiet out of respect. 

-Always leave the grave better than you find it. Typically, I remove leaves, debris, dirt, or grass from the graves I seek. 

Additionally, if time permits, I try to submit grave locations to Google Maps. It is very, very surprising how few of these famous graves are not featured on Google's maps. When I have a chance I try to upload a location and photos for proof. Many graves have been added to Google Maps by my contributions. Please realize this is a hobby to me. I am not looking for anything out of it other than offering other people a chance to go and pay their respects as well.   

A fun bit of trivia: I actually wholeheartedly started doing this when my students and I were studying Prohibition mobsters and gangsters in class. I found out Al Capone was buried 40 minutes from where I live, so I offered extra credit for students to go out and take a picture at his grave. At first none did, so I took my own kids and went out there. But before I left, I found out Al Capone was close to notorious gangster Babyface Nelson and a bit further was Jack Ruby who shot Lee Harvey Oswald. So I went and got all three in one day. That was kind of the start of a hobby I've had a lot of fun with. 

A second bit of trivia: I started this webpage as a way to reward myself for getting in shape. For every mile I walk or run in 2026, I am allowing myself one grave to upload. I'm getting healthy as a bonus!

I also want to give credit to the wonderful site www.findagrave.com. This is a wonderful resource, if a bit clumsy to use. I generally search in my Google bar "celebrity name grave" to find the link to that site. Almost everyone is on there, 99.9999% of famous people. There are sometime links to exact GPS coordinates which really helps narrow down when walking through massive graveyards. There does not seem to be a way to use a map feature, unfortunately, which would make life a lot easier for anyone looking for a grave. Another great search is to Google "famous graves in state name". This is generally how I add to my own personal Google Map, marking off people I want to eventually visit. I cannot give this site enough thanks, though, for what they have provided me through the years. 

I hope you all find something to enjoy while browsing. I will continually add and update. You can contact me at thegravecollectyor@gmail.com. 

Thank you all for stopping by. Go out and pay your respects to the people who changed the world. 

-The Grave Collector