How Cemetery Services Are Organized in Mississippi

Mississippi does not run its cemeteries through one central office. Burial grounds across the state belong to cities, counties, churches, nonprofit associations, private memorial-park companies and the federal government. Our directory lists 174 of them, from Jackson Cedar Lawn Cemetery on West Capitol Street to Pleasant Ridge Cemetery on a country road in Collinsville. Knowing who owns a cemetery tells you whom to call, and that saves hours when a family is already under strain.

This page explains how ownership works, which agencies handle which part of a burial, and how the experience differs between the Jackson metro, the Gulf Coast, the Delta and the northeast hills. Use it to decide who to phone first.

Who Handles Burial Paperwork and Complaints in Mississippi

Several bodies each cover one slice of the process. The Mississippi Board of Funeral Service licenses funeral directors and funeral establishments, so a complaint about a funeral home's conduct goes there. The Mississippi State Department of Health, through its vital records office, registers deaths. A funeral director normally files the death certificate for the family, and that filing is usually the first piece of paperwork before a burial.

Cemeteries themselves are overseen more loosely. A city cemetery answers to its city government or a cemetery department, as with the Indianola Cemetery Department listed at 851 Main Street. A county-owned burial ground answers to the board of supervisors. A church cemetery answers to its congregation, and a memorial park answers to its owners. If a dispute over a sale or contract cannot be settled with the cemetery, the Consumer Protection Division of the Mississippi Attorney General's office is a reasonable next stop.

Land records are a separate track. Each county's chancery clerk keeps deeds, so if you need to learn who owns a rural cemetery, or whether a family plot was ever transferred to a church or association, start at the chancery clerk's office in the county seat. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History in Jackson is the state's main source of guidance on historic cemeteries and on unmarked graves found during construction or land clearing.

Cemetery Options by Region: Jackson, the Gulf Coast, the Delta and the Hills

Where you live changes what is available, how far you will drive and who answers the phone. These are the main clusters in our listings.

Central Mississippi: Hinds and Rankin Counties

The Jackson metro has the densest concentration of choices. Hinds County has nine listings in our database and Rankin County has seven. Inside Jackson, Jackson Cedar Lawn Cemetery at 2434 West Capitol Street (601-960-1487) sits on a major corridor. Across the Pearl River in Brandon, the May Cemetery Association at 134 Richmond Drive (601-825-3453) shows the association model common in smaller towns, where local members manage sales and upkeep.

The Gulf Coast: Harrison and Hancock Counties

Harrison County has more listings than any other Mississippi county, with eleven. Gulfport Floral Hills Memorial Gardens Cemetery (8910 Carl Legett Road, 228-896-9496) and Biloxi Southern Memorial Park Cemetery (2076 Beach Boulevard, 228-388-3292) serve the coastal population. Bay Saint Louis Gardens of Memory Memorial Park Cemetery (630 Central Avenue, 228-467-3574) serves neighboring Hancock County. Storm surge from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 damaged coastal burial grounds, and the high water table means many coast families choose above-ground entombment. Ask any coastal cemetery about its vault and drainage requirements. Veterans on the coast can also look at the federal national cemetery in Biloxi.

Piney Woods and East Mississippi

Hattiesburg and Laurel anchor the Piney Woods. Hattiesburg Lott Cemetery sits at 7436 U.S. 49 (601-268-2696) in Forrest County, and Laurel Lake Park Cemetery is at 2806 Emmy Drive (601-428-0395) in Jones County. Farther east, McLemore Cemetery in Meridian (601 16th Avenue) lists a toll-free number, 888-868-7720, which may mean calls reach a central office rather than a groundskeeper on site. Lauderdale County has eight listings, so Meridian-area families have real choice.

The Northeast Hills: Tupelo, New Albany and Baldwyn

Tupelo and New Albany form a second cluster. Lee Memorial Funeral Home & Cemetery at 5257 Raymond Avenue in Tupelo (662-566-8769) combines funeral and cemetery services in one organization, which can simplify planning. Glenfield Memorial Park Cemetery and Monuments in New Albany (101 North Denton Road, 662-534-5272) pairs burial space with monument sales. Prentiss Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Baldwyn (735 Mississippi 145, 662-365-9202) is also counted in Lee County.

The Delta and the River Towns

In the Delta, burial grounds are fewer and the drives are longer. Greenville Cemetery (353 West Reed Road, 662-332-1138), Cleveland Cemetery (1098 Old Highway 61, 662-843-4601) and Greenwood Memorial Park Cemetery (2913 U.S. 49E, 662-455-6748) serve their towns. Memorial Garden Cemetery in Clarksdale (615 South State Street, 662-624-2236) is in Coahoma County. Along the river, Vicksburg Green Acres Memorial Park Cemetery (191 U.S. 80, 601-636-6259) and Natchez National Cemetery (41 Cemetery Road, 601-445-4981) serve the Warren and Adams County area. Confirm office hours by phone before you drive.

Types of Cemeteries You Will Meet in Mississippi

The type of cemetery decides who sells space, who keeps records and what rules apply to markers and visits.

Start by deciding which type fits your situation, then call the listed office. Ask who owns the land, who keeps the burial register and whether the cemetery is still selling space. Those three answers sort out most of the confusion in the first conversation.

Government cemeteries in Mississippi include facilities administered by the VA's National Cemetery Administration, state veterans cemeteries funded through state and federal partnerships, and local municipal and county cemeteries operated by city and county governments throughout the state.

Cemetery locations are available in 93 cities across Mississippi. They are spread across 61 counties.

Cities with the highest concentration include Jackson, New Albany, Laurel, where established municipal cemeteries have served their communities for generations and maintain extensive historical burial records.

Veterans in Mississippi may be eligible for burial in a state veterans cemetery at little or no cost. Contact the Mississippi Department of Veterans Affairs or Veterans Services to confirm eligibility requirements and available state-operated facilities.

Cemetery by Counties

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Families and genealogists in Mississippi can often request burial records from municipal cemetery offices or search online databases maintained by state archives and historical societies. Many Mississippi counties have digitized older cemetery records that are available through county clerk or public library genealogy collections.

Browse Cemetery by county across Mississippi to find the nearest location.

Before You Visit, Buy or Search Records in Mississippi

Call ahead. Many rural Mississippi cemeteries have no staffed office, and the listed phone may reach a volunteer or a board member. Pleasant Ridge Cemetery in Collinsville (601-626-8382) is the kind of site where a short call saves a wasted trip. Larger memorial parks keep regular office hours but may close early on weekends.

For a purchase or burial arrangement, bring photo identification, certified copies of the death certificate if a burial is involved, and any existing deed or certificate of ownership. If you are not the next of kin, bring written permission from the person who is. Families seeking old records should also bring full names, approximate dates and the last known town.

Records in smaller counties can be spread across several offices. Holly Springs Hillcrest Cemetery (380 South Maury Street, 662-252-3757), Aberdeen Monument & Cemetery (216 Mississippi 25, 662-369-3376) and Lucedale Davis Cemetery (2210 Mill Saint Extension, 601-947-9005) each sit in a different county, and each county has its own chancery clerk. Summers in Mississippi are hot and humid, so plan graveside visits and grounds walks for early morning.

Mississippi Cemetery Questions

It depends on who owns the cemetery. For a funeral home's licensing or conduct, contact the Mississippi Board of Funeral Service. For a city cemetery, start with the city clerk or cemetery department. For a county-owned site, ask the board of supervisors. For a church cemetery, the congregation's trustees decide. If a private seller misrepresented a contract or refused a refund, the Consumer Protection Division of the Mississippi Attorney General's office takes consumer complaints. Keep copies of every contract, receipt and email, and write down dates and names.

Eligible veterans, and often their spouses and dependent children, can receive a national cemetery burial with no charge for the plot, the opening and closing, or a government headstone or marker. The Department of Veterans Affairs decides eligibility, usually from a discharge document such as the DD-214. Natchez National Cemetery in Adams County and Corinth National Cemetery in Alcorn County are historic sites, and older national cemeteries can have limited space for new burials, so confirm availability first. The Corinth listing carries a Memphis-area number, 901-386-8311, which suggests calls route to a regional office.

Start with the county chancery clerk, who holds deeds and sometimes cemetery plats. Next, ask the local public library or genealogical society, since many counties have printed cemetery surveys. Church records help for congregation cemeteries, and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History can point you toward historic cemetery information. Then call the nearest listed office, such as Aberdeen Monument & Cemetery in Monroe County or Holly Springs Hillcrest Cemetery in Marshall County, and ask whether they keep a burial register. Give the full name, approximate year of death and last known town.

Ask who owns the land and whether the cemetery has a perpetual care arrangement. Request a written price list covering the plot, opening and closing, vault or liner requirements, and marker rules. Ask about transfer, resale and refund terms in case your plans change. If you are buying through a combined operation such as Lee Memorial Funeral Home & Cemetery in Tupelo, ask which charges belong to the funeral side and which to the cemetery. Compare at least two providers, and never sign until you have read the full contract.

Some cemeteries are managed by a corporate, regional or federal office elsewhere. El Dorado Rest Haven Memorial Gardens Cemetery on Ready Drive in Hernando lists an 870 area code, McLemore Cemetery in Meridian lists a toll-free 888 number, and Corinth National Cemetery lists a 901 number. When you reach a central office, ask for the local grounds contact, confirm the street address and ask whether anyone is on site. Hernando sits in DeSoto County near the Tennessee line, so a Memphis-area or neighboring-state number is not unusual there.

Yes. Hurricane Katrina's storm surge in 2005 damaged coastal burial grounds, and the Gulf Coast's high water table is one reason families consider above-ground crypts and mausoleums. Before buying in Gulfport, Biloxi or Bay Saint Louis, ask about elevation, drainage, vault requirements and how the cemetery handled past storms. Ask also whether burial records are backed up off site. During hurricane season, services and grounds work can be delayed, so confirm timing with the cemetery office and your funeral director.