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Hank Williams Grave — Oakwood Annex Cemetery, Montgomery

1305 Upper Wetumpka Rd
Montgomery, Alabama, USA

32.3760° N · -86.2756° W

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What happened here?

Hank Williams is buried at Oakwood Annex Cemetery in Montgomery, Alabama — the city where he launched his professional career and where his name remains synonymous with the origins of country music. Williams died on New Year's Day 1953 at the age of 29, and his funeral in Montgomery was attended by an estimated 25,000 people who crowded the Municipal Auditorium and the surrounding streets. He was initially buried in Montgomery City Cemetery; his remains were later moved to Oakwood Annex, where the grave is now among the most visited in American music history.

The grave is marked with a white marble headstone bearing a steel guitar and the inscription 'I'll Have a New Life' — a reference to a gospel song Williams recorded. His second wife Billie Jean Jones is buried nearby. Montgomery has embraced Williams as its most celebrated cultural figure, naming streets, parks, and institutions after him.

The Hank Williams Museum in downtown Montgomery is a short distance from the cemetery and houses an extensive collection of memorabilia including his 1952 Cadillac, stage costumes, personal effects, and handwritten lyrics. The museum and grave together form the central pilgrimage for Hank Williams devotees. Montgomery is accessible by road and by air and is an increasingly recognised destination for country and American roots music heritage tourism.

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