Looking for an interesting local history tour? Mark your calendar for Sat. Oct. 19 as the Griffin Cemetery’s 12th Annual Historic Tour will memorialize several local leaders and legends.
Costumed re-enactors will present the stories of several souls resting in Moss Point’s circa 1848 cemetery. The tour is not a haunted event, but instead, is an historical one and suitable for all ages.
The cemetery is located at the west end of Dantzler Street. Tours start on the hour and half hour beginning at 9 a.m. with the last tour starting at 11:30 a.m. In case of rain the event will be Sun. afternoon, Oct. 20, with the first tour at 2 p.m. and the last tour at 4:30 p.m. The guided tour takes about an hour and includes walking to the various highlighted gravesites. Golf carts with drivers will be available for those who need assistance.
The presentations will feature Linnie Bingham Cowan portrayed by Amantha Johnson; Ella Brooks Smith portrayed by Regina Kirkland; Eliza Ann Peterson McIntosh portrayed by Dana Nelson; Annie Clara Eley McLeod portrayed by her daughter Ann Waller; and the Beardslee family presented by Tom Getz.
Local history buffs organize and man the event. Deidre Bishop DenBleyker is the driving force behind the successful attraction. A Moss Point native, DenBleyker hopes the tours inform guests about the area’s rich history. She also hopes that history will stay alive and remain important to younger generations.
The event is made possible by a strong team of community volunteers who conduct research and plan the logistics. The first tour, in 2013, featured two presenters and took place at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. That year was a learning experience as the tour committee realized the event needed to be daytime only because the cemetery has no lighting. Through the years the committee has tweaked the affair to improve the experience for guests. For the last few years, it has been a morning event with progressive style presentations. Each year the tour is dedicated in memory of a community member. This year’s tour honors the memory of Dorothee “Dotty” Elizabeth Grayban. She was a long-time volunteer of the event and manned the exit table for many years.
According to local history documentation, eight “East Pascagoula” families lived in 1820 in the area of Mossy Point, now known as Moss Point. One of these was Lyman Bradford who co-owned a sawmill with Joseph Beardslee and is recorded as having a home at Griffin Point in 1850. The cemetery property was obtained by the William Griffin family from the Lyman Bradford family between 1860 and 1870. The oldest marked graves are Lyman Bradford’s children, Burissa, age 11, and Benjamin Bradford, age 3, who died of an invasive fever in 1848.
Interested attendees can find more details on Facebook at Griffin Cemetery Tour.
