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Church Street Graveyard

Coordinates: 30°41′09″N 88°03′03″W / 30.68583°N 88.05083°W / 30.68583; -88.05083
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Church Street Graveyard
A view within Church Street Graveyard.
Map
Details
Established1819
Location
CountryUnited States
Owned byCity of Mobile
Size4 acres (1.6 ha)
Find a GraveChurch Street Graveyard

Church Street Graveyard is a historic city cemetery located in Mobile, Alabama. The cemetery is situated on 4 acres (1.6 ha) and is surrounded by a brick wall that dates back to 1830.[1] At the time the cemetery was established, it lay about a half-mile away from most development, but it is now considered to be downtown.[1]

History

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Church Street Graveyard was founded in 1819, replacing Campo Santo, located at the site of the present Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception as the city's main place of burial.[1] The new cemetery was not officially acquired from local landowner William E. Kennedy by the city of Mobile until a year later, in 1820.[1] Mobile's city officials divided the cemetery into three sections. The northeastern third was designated for Catholics, the southeastern third for Protestants, and the remaining western portion was a "graveyard for strangers". Masons, Odd Fellows, veterans, and the indigent incidentally came to be interred in this western section.[1] The cemetery was closed to burial in 1898, though a few modern burials have taken place by special city resolution.[1]

Notable monuments and interments

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Many of the gravestones at Church Street Graveyard are significant examples of stone carving work done in New England and the Gulf Coast in the early 19th century.[2] The cemetery also contains early examples of wrought and cast iron work.[1]

The more notable interments include:

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Sledge, John (April 2002). "Church Street Graveyard". The Alabama Review. 55: 96–105.
  2. ^ "Church Street Graveyard". City of Mobile. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
  3. ^ Windham, Kathryn Tucker (1982). Jeffrey's Latest 13: More Alabama Ghosts. Huntsville, Alabama: Strode Publishers. pp. 21–32. ISBN 0-8173-0380-4.
  4. ^ Borland, Timothy (June 27, 2011). "Mobile Tree Hugger, Part II: The Legend Of The Charles Boyington Oak". Mobile Bay Magazine. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
  5. ^ "This Goodly Land, Alabama's Literary Landscape". Alabama Center for the Book and Auburn University. Archived from the original on 2010-09-17. Retrieved 2009-09-04.

30°41′09″N 88°03′03″W / 30.68583°N 88.05083°W / 30.68583; -88.05083