Friendship Cemetery

Friendship Cemetery
View within Friendship Cemetery
Friendship Cemetery is located in Mississippi
Friendship Cemetery
Friendship Cemetery is located in the United States
Friendship Cemetery
Location1300 4th Street South, Columbus, Mississippi
Coordinates33°28′51″N 88°25′50″W / 33.48083°N 88.43056°W / 33.48083; -88.43056
Area70 acres
Built1849
NRHP reference No.80002287
USMS No.087-CBS-1601-NR-ML
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJuly 23, 1980[2]
Designated USMSDecember 14, 1989[1]

Friendship Cemetery is a cemetery located in Columbus, Mississippi. In 1849, the cemetery was established on 5 acres by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.[3] The original layout consisted of three interlocking circles, signifying the Odd Fellows emblem.[4] By 1957, Friendship Cemetery had increased in size to 35 acres, and was acquired by the City of Columbus. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and was designated a Mississippi Landmark in 1989. As of 2015, the cemetery contained some 22,000 graves within an area of 70 acres and was still in use.[5] The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science hosts a public event every April at night in the cemetery. Students complete a research project on someone buried at the cemetery, before dressing up and doing a performance as the person they researched.[6]

  1. ^ "Mississippi Landmarks (Lowndes County)". Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  2. ^ National Park Service, Digital Asset Management System (Friendship Cemetery) Retrieved 2018-01-02
  3. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Friendship Cemetery". National Park Service. April 28, 1980. Retrieved 2018-01-01. With 9 photos from 1980.
  4. ^ "Welcome to IOOF". www.ioof.org. Advanced Solutions International. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  5. ^ "Historic Friendship Cemetery is still open for business". The Commercial Dispatch. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  6. ^ McCollum, Anna. "Columbus students tell 'Tales from the Crypt'". Mississippi Today. Retrieved 2024-05-05.