News Releases

Three new state historical markers have been approved by the MDAH Board of Trustees for Raymond Presbyterian Church in Hinds County, Evergreen Cemetery in Jackson County, and for the city of Verona in Lee County.

Silas H. Hazard organized Raymond Presbyterian Church in 1842. The first ruling elder of the church was N.G. North, a newspaper editor who headed a local female academy. The building was constructed in 1871, remodeled in 1913, and two rooms were added in 1925. The one-story structure is a contributing element of the Raymond Historic District. Charles L. Long, former mayor of Raymond, served as the ruling elder from 1910 to 1975. Raymond Presbyterian Church sponsored this marker.

Evergreen Cemetery, established circa 1854, is the first public burial ground in Ocean Springs. Known as “the resting place of the fathers and mothers,” Evergreen Cemetery has been racially and religiously inclusive since its inception. Prominent Ocean Springs natives interred at the cemetery include potter Peter Anderson, artist Walter Anderson, abolitionist Hannah Tracy Cutler, and civil rights leader Jesse Trotter Sr. The city of Ocean Springs sponsored this marker.

The town of Verona was chartered in 1860 in what was then Pontotoc County. Because of its location on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, Verona experienced troop activity during the Civil War. On Christmas Day in 1864, the town was raided by Union Brigadier General Benjamin Grierson’s cavalry. In 1876, the first bank in Lee County was chartered in Verona, later becoming BancorpSouth. Gladys Smith and Vernon Presley, the mother and father of Elvis Presley, were married in Verona on June 17, 1933. The City of Verona sponsored this marker.

Members of the board of trustees are Kane Ditto, president; Hilda Cope Povall, vice-president; Reuben V. Anderson, Jackson; Nancy Carpenter, Columbus; Valencia Hall, Natchez; Betsey Hamilton, New Albany; Web Heidelberg, Hattiesburg; Mark Keenum, Starkville; and Roland Weeks, Biloxi.

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History is the second-oldest state department of archives and history in the United States. The department collects, preserves, and provides access to the archival resources of the state, administers museums and historic sites, and oversees statewide programs for historic preservation, state and local government records management, and publications. The department is headquartered in the state-of-the-art William F. Winter Archives and History Building, located on the corner of North and Amite Streets in downtown Jackson. For more information call 601-576-6850 or visit www.mdah.ms.gov.