Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV) isn’t a particularly unusual airport. It’s got 20 gates and is served by Allegiant, American, Avelo, Breeze, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, Sun Country and United Airlines. The airport handled a respectable 4.1 million commercial airline passengers in 2024 and is the second largest airport in the state of Georgia, only behind ATL (because, let’s face it, it would take one HECK of an airport to be bigger than ATL).
However, SAV does have one little factoid that no other airport in the country has. Its 9,350-foot Runway 10 is thought to be the only active airport runway in the United States, and possibly the world, with marked gravestones in it.
Yup.
The Story Behind the Graves
Catherine and Richard Dotson have been buried on that land since 1877 and 1884, respectively. They were married for 50 years and the area where they’re buried was originally a family cemetery that had about 100 graves comprised of family members and slaves. However, the land eventually became a part of SAV, and the Dotsons remain buried there, underneath runway 10, along with two other family members, who are buried between runways 10 and 28.
PC: Pinterest
So… Why Are the Graves Still There?
Well, it depends on what source you read. We do know that federal law usually prohibits anyone from moving a grave without permission of the next of kin. From there, the facts get a little foggy.
Wikipedia says:
…two graves of the Dotson Family, the earliest grave dating back to 1857, were encountered during the construction of the runway. Since the next of kin could not be located, the graves were left undisturbed.
SAV’s website says:
…The Dotson’s great grandchildren negotiated with the federal government and all but four of their ancestors were relocated to Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah.
…The families wished for the graves to remain in place when westward extension of this East to West runway was required during World War II. The graves of Richard and Catherine Dotson along with two beloved relatives, Daniel Hueston and John Dotson, remain undisturbed in and next to the airport’s most active runway.
Frankly, I tend to side with SAV’s info. But as the good blog says, Your Mileage May Vary.
PC: SAV
What the Markers Say
Her grave marker says, “Gone home to rest,” while his says, “At rest.”
I don’t know how much rest they’re getting on a major airport runway, but there ya go.
*** Huge thank-you to Michael G. for giving us a heads up on this topic!
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
