HOPEWELL CEMETERY

While recently researching the Vicksburg Post microfilm I came upon articles about volunteers cleaning and restoring Hopewell Cemetery. The newspaper articles state that this is the oldest cemetery in Warren County and that the land was given by William Lewis in 1804-1805.
The cemetery served the Hopewell Methodist Church, located in Warrenton and the first county seat of Warren County. The cemetery contains burials of the earliest settlers in Warren County.
The oldest stone in Hopewell belongs to Susan Schweppe, having a death date of August 9, 1822.

Mr. Gordon Cotton published a book in 1999 titled, Hopewell Cemetery and the old town of Warrenton: a history of the first county seat of Warren County, Mississippi, and Hopewell Methodist Church, which was the first church established in the county.
This book gives the history of the church, cemetery and the early settlers buried there. I found the accounts given very interesting such as; one of the biggest cases for an early lawyer, friends going the extra mile to have Jim Pace freed from the Warrenton Jail and the Last Will of Alex McNeill, listing by name, the slaves sold and the buyers with the prices paid. There’s also a listing of Yellow Fever Fatalities of 1853 for the Warrenton Population.

Special thanks to Jeff at the Old Court House Museum and Mr. Gordon Cotton for donating this book to our library.