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CHAPTER 425
HOUSE BILL NO. 780
AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE AND EMPOWER THE RESPECTIVE
BOARDS
OF SUPERVISORS IN THIS STATE, IN THEIR DISCRETION
AND UPON
AN APPROPRIATE CERTIFICATE FROM THE.TRUSTEES OF THE
STATE
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY, TO REPAIR,
REHABILITATE, AND MAINTAIN ABANDONED CEMETERIES.
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI :
SECTION 1.
Upon the official
certificate of the Trustees of the Mississippi
State Department of Archives and History that any
abandoned cemetery is of historical significance
and should be repaired, rehabilitated, or
maintained as a historical monument, the boards of
supervisors of the respective counties in this
state are hereby authorized and empowered, in
their discretion, to repair, rehabilitate, and
maintain any such cemetery within the borders of
the county over which such board has jurisdiction.
SECTION 2.
Subject to like certificate from the said
Trustees of the State Department of Archives and
History, the board of supervisors in adjoining
counties may in their discretion, jointly accomplish
such repairs, rehabilitation, or maintenance in
those instances where the cemetery in question
occupies territory which at one (1) time or another
was located as a part of said adjoining counties.
SECTION 3.
This act shall take effect and be in force
from and after its passage.
Approved: March 23, 1971
CRITERIA FOR THE CERTIFICATION
OF HISTORICAL
SIGNIFICANCE OF ABANDONED CEMETERIES
UNDER THE PROVISIONS
OF
HOUSE BILL NO.780
Laws of Mississippi, 1971
1.The request for a certificate of
historical significance must pertain to an
"abandoned" cemetery.
A. For the purposes of the implementation of this
act, an "abandoned" cemetery shall
be construed to be one that is not
adequately maintained by its legal owner or owners,
whether religious bodies, private individuals, or
governmental agencies.
B. An "abandoned" cemetery shall also be interpreted
as one in which no burials have been made in the
five years preceding the date of the official,
written request to the Board of Trustees of the
Department of Archives and History for a certificate
of historical significance.
C. A single grave, in some
instances, may constitute an abandoned" cemetery.
D. Indian burial grounds shall be regarded as
"abandoned" cemeteries
II. In determining whether or not to issue a
certificate of historical significance, the Board of
Trustees will consider:
A. Cemeteries which contain the graves of persons
who have contributed significantly to the history of
the nation, the state, or the local region.
B. Cemeteries which are
associated with events that have made a significant
contribution to the broad patterns of the history of
the nation, the state, or the local region.
C. Cemeteries which are
associated with properties entered on the
National Registry of Historic Places.
D. Cemeteries which are
associated with "State Archeological Landmarks,"
provided for in the Antiquities Law of the State of
Mississippi.
E. Cemeteries which are located
on land belonging to the State of
Mississippi, to a county or municipality, or to any
political subdivision of the State.
F. Cemeteries containing the
graves of veterans of any of the nation's wars.
G. Cemeteries containing
statuary, vaults, markers, and monuments of
sufficient architectural and artistic value to
merit their protection and preservation.
H. Cemeteries which, by their
preservation, would contribute in turn to
the preservation of the earlier historical image of
a locality.
I. Cemeteries containing 18th
century burials.
J. Indian burial grounds,
officially identified by professional
archaeologists.
III. Those cemeteries which
have been officially certified by the Board of
Trustees shall be inventoried by local
persons or groups requesting the certificate, and
the inventory shall be deposited with the Department
of Archive. and History.
This procedure will not be necessary if the
Department already has the records for that
particular cemetery in its collections.
Approved by the Board of
Trustees of the Department of Archives and History
at its meeting August 27, 1971.
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Visit the web site of
the
Mississippi Department of Archives and History where
matters of Historical Preservation and particularly
abandoned cemeteries are
outlined.
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
From the page that opens, click on 'criteria'
under the heading 'Cemetery' for the criteria establsihed for the
preservation of Mississippi cemeteries. Contact the
MDAH for more specific information on preserving
local cemeteries.
Mississippi Department of Archives and History Historic Preservation
Abandoned Cemetery Project
P. O. Box 571
Jackson, MS 39205-0571
Telephone: (601) 576-6940
Fax: (601) 576-6955
Email: msshpo@mdah.state.ms.us
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