Church Street Graveyard is a historic city

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

located in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

. The cemetery is situated on and is surrounded by a brick wall that dates back to 1830. 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.

History

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. The new cemetery was not officially acquired from local landowner William E. Kennedy by the city of Mobile until a year later, in 1820. Mobile's city officials divided the cemetery into three sections. The northeastern third was designated for

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

s, the southeastern third for

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

s, and the remaining western portion was a "graveyard for strangers". Masons,

Odd Fellows Odd Fellows (or Oddfellows when referencing the Grand United Order of Oddfellows or some British-based fraternities; also Odd Fellowship or Oddfellowship) is an international fraternity consisting of lodges first documented in 1730 in 18th-cen ...

, veterans, and the

indigent Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse

incidentally came to be interred in this western section. The cemetery was closed to burial in 1898, though a few modern burials have taken place by special city resolution.

Notable monuments and interments

Many of the gravestones at Church Street Graveyard are significant examples of stone carving work done in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

and the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

in the early 19th century. The cemetery also contains early examples of wrought and cast iron work. The more notable interments include: * Charles R.S. Boyington, convicted of the murder of Nathaniel Frost. Reportedly buried beneath the Boyington Oak just outside the graveyard walls. *

Joe Cain Joseph Stillwell Cain Jr. (October 10, 1832 – April 17, 1904) was an American Confederate States of America, Confederate military veteran largely credited with initiating the modern way of observing Mardi Gras and its celebrations in Mobil ...

, important figure in the history of

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ; also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. is French for "Fat Tuesday", referring to it being ...

in the city. * Colonel Jean-Jerome Cluis, a

Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of mi ...

refugee and member of the ill-fated

Vine and Olive Colony The Vine and Olive Colony was an effort by a group of French Bonapartists who, fearing for their lives after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Bourbon Restoration, attempted to establish an agricultural settlement growing wine grapes and oli ...

. * Dominique Louis Dolive, an early

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

settler. * Don Miguel Eslava, an early

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

official. * Gen. Edmund Pendleton Gaines, a hero of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. * Mary Josephine Hollinger, a native of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

colonial Mobile. * James Roper, builder of Oakleigh. *

Eugene Walter Eugene Ferdinand Walter, Jr. (November 30, 1921 – March 29, 1998) was an American screenwriter, poet, short-story author, actor, puppeteer, gourmet chef, cryptographer, translator, editor, costume designer and well-known raconteur. During his y ...

, actor and author. * Julian Lee Rayford, author and folklorist.

Gallery

Image:Church Street Cemetery 01.JPG, A tomb in Church Street Graveyard. Image:Joe Cain Gravemarker.jpg, Grave of

, founder of modern

. Image:Church Street Graveyard 04.JPG, An example of iron work in Church Street Graveyard. Image:Church Street Graveyard 05.JPG, A sculptural tombstone in Church Street Graveyard.

References

{{Mobile, Alabama Cemeteries in Mobile, Alabama 1819 establishments in Alabama Cemeteries established in the 1810s