Providence Cemetery, Grenada Mississippi

Date added: October 19, 2024

Categories:
Mississippi
Cemetery

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Providence Cemetery, established in about 1840, dates from the very early period of settlement in what is now Grenada County. This cemetery is one of the first established in the area. There are six recorded burials and inscribed markers showing burial dates in the 1840s, which is more than any other cemetery in the county.

The land on which Grenada County was settled was originally part of the Choctaw Indian lands which stretched across Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. The first known white inhabitants of the area came in 1818 when the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions established an Indian mission at the now-extinct town of Elliott. As white settlement increased in Mississippi in the early 1800s, the Choctaws ceded or sold large tracts of their territory. They first ceded the central and southern areas of the state and by 1830 there were 19,000 Choctaw Indians concentrated in the north-central section of Mississippi. In the early 1820s the Mississippi Legislature passed laws to deprive the Choctaw of their tribal laws and place them under the jurisdiction of the state. This caused much dissent among the Choctaw. Some members of the tribe felt that moving west to reservations would be in their best interests while others wished to stay on the ancestral lands.

The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830 settled the issue, with the Choctaw agreeing to move west to reservations and selling the rest of their territory in Mississippi. Those Choctaw who wished to remain were granted sections of land which they could settle or sell. The land office opened in October 1833 for the legal sale of the land which later became Grenada County. Land speculation was the most important attraction to the area; however, settlers also came who intended to make homes here, especially planters who were continually looking for new lands. Navigable rivers such as the Yalobusha, Yazoo and other streams, which connected with the Mississippi River and thus provided a good means of bringing supplies into the area, interested permanent settlers. Persons from south Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland were the predominant settlers.

In 1833 a group of speculators purchased land to be subdivided into the towns of Pittsburg and Tullahoma along the Yalobusha River. In 1834, the town of Pittsburg was platted with 35 blocks subdivided into 249 lots. Sale of lots in Pittsburg began in 1835 with the first houses and businesses constructed that year.

Tullahoma was founded by a group of investors in 1833. The town was surveyed and lots put up for sale at public auction in 1834. The original survey contained over 250 lots south of the Yalobusha River. The Tullahoma Town Company sold 201 lots between 1833 and 1855, when it ceased business. Most sales occurred in the years between 1835 and 1839 when the town was established and the earliest homes and businesses were constructed. Descriptions of the early appearance of Tullahoma suggest that no notable buildings were erected for several years. Most early buildings were one-story frame structures, none of which have survived to the present in their original form.

After two years of co-existence the two rival communities of Pittsburg and Tullahoma, separated only by a section line, were joined together to form the town of Grenada.

Grenada County was created in 1870 by an Act of the Mississippi Legislature, with a larger portion of the new county being taken from Yalobusha County and smaller areas from Carroll, Tallahatchie, and Choctaw Counties. These four older counties were created in 1833 from Indian lands secured by the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. Grenada was chosen as the county seat, since it had become the largest trade center in the area and had outgrown other towns in population. It would be difficult to arrive at an exact population figure for Grenada County prior to 1870 since this area was then composed of parts of four counties. The census of 1870 listed 3,929 white persons and 6,642 free colored persons living in the county.

The rural settlement of Providence was located approximately 11 miles east of Grenada. The three main roads were then Graysport, Middle and Providence Road, where Providence Cemetery and Providence Baptist Church are located. Providence Baptist Church was organized in 1838. In 1841 the church had 91 members, and in 1842 it is reported to have had a roll of 134, of which there were both black and white members. The present church building was constructed in 1975. Also located on Providence Road was the Providence Academy, which issued a catalog in 1842 listing a faculty of 3 and a student body of 35 boys and 31 girls.

The names of prominent families and persons instrumental in establishing this part of Mississippi appears on many tombstones in the cemetery. Some examples appear below:

--H. G. Taylor, who worked to establish Grenada County and its government, along with his wife, children, and other family members.

--Joseph Collins, wealthy businessman, land owner and planter from Alabama who came to this part of Mississippi in 1833 seeking new lands, along with his wife, Sarah, and son, Moses, and other family members. Moses Collins' grave is the oldest inscribed tombstone in the cemetery, with a burial date of 1840.

--John S. King, extensive land owner who gave the land for the church and cemetery, along with other family members.

--Three children of W. M. Aldridge who helped organize the county government and was a member of the first grand jury.

--The wife, two children, and other family members of W. C. Chamberlain, who was commissioned by the Southern Railroad Association to build and manage the first respectable and higher quality inn in Grenada.

--Dr. Jasper N. Wall, an early physician, with his wife and other family members.

--B. F. Johnson, an early land owner, along with several family members.

--W. G. Moore, son of Jennie Moore, who was the wife of a Grenada mayor and dentist.

--The wife and family members of C. C. Campbell, principal of the Providence Academy, as listed in the catalog of 1842.

As stated earlier, there are six recorded burials and inscribed markers showing burial dates in the 1840s, which is more than any other cemetery in the county. It is possible that many of the unmarked graves and table stones of slabs of ironstone date back to this time. There are also 24 markers inscribed with burial dates in the 1850s, 21 with burial dates in the 1860s, and one in 1870. Tombstones erected during the following one hundred years are numerous and indicate continual use. The oldest graves are located in the northwest section of the cemetery, while more recent graves are concentrated in the southern part.

The earlier section contains examples of epitaphs and funerary symbols typical of the nineteenth century. Among the most notable of the old headstones are examples of rare primitive table stones improvised in tongue-and-groove fashion by a local slave craftsman. These markers are made of ironstone unearthed in this locality and date back to the 1840s. Emblems, designs, and lettering were carved into this rock. Other markers range from gravestones carved with funerary symbols and wording to large, simple, unmarked mounds of native stone obviously placed to simulate table stone monuments.

Site Description

The earliest portion of Providence Cemetery is a rectangular area 260 feet by 130 feet in size. Within this area is a concentration of early graves, the earliest dating to 1840. This historic area is located on about three-quarters of an acre in the northwest section of the cemetery. More recent graves are concentrated in the southern part of the cemetery. Used continuously from 1840 to the present as a place of interment, Providence Cemetery is located on 2.1 acres of gently rolling terrain on the Providence Baptist Church property in a rural area about 11 miles east of Grenada, Mississippi. It is bounded by Providence Road on the north, Providence Baptist Church on the west and privately owned wooded land on the east and south. The present church building (constructed in 1975) stands adjacent to but separate from the cemetery at the top of a wooded hill and is reached by a circular drive. The graveyard is situated on a large treeless hilltop and is enclosed by a fence added in 1919 with an entrance gate near the church drive. There is no formal landscaping. The graves are arranged largely in rows, but since the cemetery is spacious, they are not close together.

The early portion of Providence Cemetery contains headstones with some of the earliest dates found in cemeteries in the northern part of the state. The oldest decipherable marker is inscribed with the burial date of 1840. Inscribed markers indicate 6 burial dates in the 1840s, 24 in the 1850s, 21 in the 1860s, and one in 1870. There are also unmarked graves in the cemetery.

The historic area of the burial ground contains examples of epitaphs and funerary symbols typical of the nineteenth century. Among the most notable grave markers are those made of native ironstone which underlies the area and which weathers to a deep red color. It is noted in a Clarion-Ledger newspaper article by Carl McIntire entitled "Slave Made Markers" that a slave prior to the Civil War became quite adept at cutting tongue-and-groove slabs from the native stone that fit perfectly. Made like tables of five pieces of stone with the headstone taller to carry inscriptions, the slabs were cut immediately after the rock was unearthed before it had hardened completely. It was reported that this slave could neither read nor write, but was able to copy lettering and draw designs that were etched on the stone. Although the identity of this stone carver remains elusive, it is evident that he was a creative and ingenious craftsman who used the only material available to him. Other markers in the cemetery range from ironstone, limestone and marble monuments carved with funerary symbols and wording to large, simple, unmarked mounds of native stone obviously placed to simulate table stone monuments.

The cemetery has been operated and owned for at least 150 years by the Providence Baptist Church and will remain privately owned by that congregation. The property is maintained through church donations and funds left by deceased persons for its continued care and preservation.