MOSS POINT—Cemeteries—they aren’t just scary anymore. Sometimes a visit to a cemetery is an opportunity to step back in time and allow the cemetery to tell the stories of those at rest.
The 13th Annual Griffin Cemetery Tour in Moss Point invites visitors to enjoy the cemetery and gardens and the scenic northward view of Griffin Point overlooking the Pascagoula River. Guided tours for 2025 will be on Saturday, November 1, beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing every thirty minutes until 11:30 a.m.
Historic Griffin Cemetery is located at the end of Dantzler Street, one mile south of Interstate 10, Exit 68. The cemetery was opened circa 1848, with the oldest marked graves belonging to Lyman Bradford’s children, Burissa and Benjamin, who died of fever in 1848. The Bradford family sold the property to the Griffin family during the 1860s, who the cemetery is now named after.
Sponsored by the Jackson County Historic and Genealogical Society, this year’s tours showcase community members interned on the site. Organizers have chosen descendants of prominent families of Moss Point who were instrumental in shaping the community for what it is today.
Deidre DenBleyker, one of the event organizers, said this year’s tour and presentation will be a great local learning experience.
“Our presenters have researched the life and accomplishments of these past members of the community,” Ms. DenBleyker said. “The presentation will include period costume that would have been worn by these people.”
Representing the Rape family, owners of Rape Drugs in Moss Point, will be Karen and Bill Nelson and Joseph Mitchell Cirlot will be presented by Amanda Johnson. Ann McLeod Waller will introduce guests to the history of Mable Louise Fisher, and former Mississippi Lt. Gov. Marion McKay Evans will be portrayed by Tom Getz. along with Regina Kirkland who portrays the history of Jessie Lone Smith Canty.
As a regular participant and not a native of Moss Point, Getz has had the opportunity to research information about the people who shaped the Moss Point community.
“I participate in the Cemetery Tour each year for a couple of reasons,” Getz said. “This area is my adopted home, and I enjoy learning about the people and the history from around here.”
With a very large personality, Getz said he enjoys sharing what he has learned with others through this event.
“I think the tour gives a sense of community pride to everyone that comes,” he added.
Janet Beatty, secretary-treasurer of the Griffin Cemetery Board of Directors, said she doesn’t have a total count of gravesites in the cemetery due to the age of the records but is proud to have available plots to continue building the history of Griffin Cemetery.
“Some plots only list a family name, but there may be six or more people buried there,” she said. “I have tried to count, but it is too difficult.”
The cemetery still has individual and family plots available along with space in the mausoleum.
Photos are courtesy of Griffin Historic Cemetery Facebook
