Hank Williams left this world in the back seat of a baby blue Cadillac somewhere between Bristol, Tenn., and Oak Hill on the way to a New Year’s Day in1953. It is not known with certainty whether Hank passed on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, or even where he was, but he was officially declared dead at 7:00 a.m. on January 1, 1953, in Oak Hill, W. Va.
More than 50 years after his death, Hank Williams’s grave continues to be one of the most visited burial sites in Alabama. Hank is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery Annex off Upper Wetumpka Road in Montgomery Alabama. He was originally buried on January 4, 1953 in the main part of Oakwood Cemetery, but his body was moved to its current location on January 17 of that year to a more attractive spot that would later be able to accommodate the burial of other family members. Even then or rather, especially, since the shock of his death was still new, the move had to be made during the night because of the steady stream of visitors to the gravesite.
The gravesite features two white and gray Georgia marble monuments. Hank’s stands in front of a marble replica of his cowboy hat. The other belongs to Hank’s ex-wife, Audrey Sheppard Williams, who died on November 4, 1975.
Technically, Hank’s widow was Billie Jean Eshliman, the woman he married in October of 1952, in a private ceremony and then remarried twice the next day. A promoter had the idea to charge $2 to see the couple married and some 14,000 people paid to attend the two events. Friends have said that the couple were nervous that first wife, Audrey, might show up to make trouble at the public weddings. She did not. She did, however, have control of script approval when the film, Your Cheating Heart, starring George Hamilton, was made and she had the second wedding written out of the film. Audrey Williams also told the Montgomery Advertiser after Hank’s death that Hank had plans to divorce Billie Jean so they could remarry, although friends who knew them both at the time have commented that this was news to them.
Audrey Williams and Hank’s mother, Lillian Williams were tied up in suits for years to have Billie Jean’s marriage to Hank declared invalid. It seems that Billie Jean’s divorce from her first husband was not finalized until December 1952, while the marriage took place in October. Finally, in November1975, a Federal Judge ruled in Atlanta that Billie Jean’s marriage to Hank Williams was valid. A few days after the judge’s decision, Audrey Williams died in her sleep
By that time, Billie Jean had become a country singer’s widow twice. After Hank’s death, she married singer, Johnny Horton, in September of 1953. That marriage was to end 7 years later when Johnny died in a car accident. Several coincidences besides his being married to Hank’s widow have been reported. Johnny Horton’s last show took place at the same venue as Hank’s last live show: The Skyline Club in Austin, Tx. Billie Jean has said that Johnny kissed her goodbye on the same cheek that her first husband did the last time they parted. Billie Jean Jones Eshliman Williams Horton gives her first ever on-camera interview in a documentary called Hank Williams, Honky Tonk Blues released in 2004.
Audrey Williams was not originally buried by Hank when she died, just a few months after her son, Hank Williams, Jr. had a terrible mountain-climbing accident. A fall from Ajax Mountain in Montana on August 8, 1975 left Hank Jr. close to death. His shattered face took two years of painful reconstruction surgery and he had to learn to speak and sing all over again. Despite his grave condition, he still managed to attend his mother’s funeral. In 1983, Hank Williams, Jr. and Lycrecia Williams (Hank’s stepdaughter), had Audrey’s body exhumed and buried in its current location next to Hank.
Fans and tourists stop by the gravesite by the busload or by private car every year, and many people attend ceremonies that are regularly held on the official anniversary of Hank Williams’ death January 1st, as well as on his birthday, September 17th.
Up until April 2004, the Oakwood Annex was separate and distinct from the city-owned Oakwood Cemetery. The annex was privately owned. When the owner died, the State of Alabama was forced to take it over. The state maintains the grounds while the staff of the Hank Williams Museum in downtown Montgomery tends to care of the actual gravesite. A low marble curb marks off the artificial-grass-carpeted area around the monuments, and there are also two marble benches for visitor seating.
Country singer and songwriter, Alan Jackson penned a tribute to Hank, called Midnight in Montgomery, which tells a tale of a memorable visit to Hank’s gravesite.
‘Cause it’s midnight in Montgomery
Just hear that whippoorwill
See the stars light up the purple sky
Feel that lonesome chill
When the wind it’s right, you’ll hear his songs
Smell whiskey in the air
Midnight in Montgomery
He’s always singing there
This song has inspired many fans and locals to visit the grave around midnight, and it is not unusual for cemetery custodians to find beer cans, both empty and full, by the gravesite in the morning.
If you find yourself in Montgomery and wish to pay your respects to Hank, in addition to visiting his final resting place, you probably are not going to want to miss a trip to the Hank Williams Museum located at 118 Commerce Street in downtown Montgomery, where you will see the baby blue Cadillac that Hank took his last ride in. If you’re up to making a sidetrip, you can also visit Hank William’s Boyhood Home and Museum located at 127 Rose Street, in Georgiana, Alabama, about an hour’s drive southwest of Montgomery.
Reference:
- The Official Hank Williams MuseumHank Williams Boyhood Home and MuseumFind Hank Williams and Other Celebrities on Find-A-Grave.com
