The Trussville City Council recently created and named members to the Trussville Cemetery Rehabilitation Authority.
An ordinance creating the authority was passed Jan. 21, and board members were approved by the City Council March 9.
Serving on the board are Pat Glenn, John Patterson, Eric Frederick, Gary Lloyd and Councilwoman Jaime Melton Anderson.
The board will oversee the registration and maintenance of cemeteries in Trussville, most notably the Mt. Nebo and Trussville Memorial cemeteries. The Trussville Cemetery Association approached the city requesting this be done.
According to the ordinances, based upon the character and nature of certain cemeteries, the city found it necessary to create the authority.
The Cahawba Baptist Cemetery, now known to most as the Trussville Memorial Cemetery, is likely the most recognizable cemetery in the city. It is located directly across from the Trussville Municipal Building on Main Street. The older side of this cemetery is located near a large magnolia tree on the south end of the cemetery. Potential graves in this area are marked by stones and concrete markers, some that appear to contain no names or dates, perhaps never etched onto stone or faded over long periods of time. Some of the earliest burials here appear to have taken place in the late 1800s. A historical marker was unveiled at the site on the 140th anniversary of the First Baptist Church of Trussville on July 16, 1961. Thomas K. Truss, Warren Truss and other early settlers of Trussville are buried in this cemetery.
Mt. Nebo Cemetery is located directly across U.S. 11 from Trussville First Presbyterian Church. A historical marker that was once located near the church suggests that the cemetery was founded in 1860, seven years before the church was founded. Sinkler Lathem, who deeded plots of land for the church and Georgiana Davis Masonic Lodge No. 338, is buried in this cemetery. Some possible grave sites here are marked only by rocks.
– Submitted by Trussville Cemetery Rehabilitation Authority.
