The municipal burial ground is a composite of four cemeteries reflecting the stages of community development. Early Madisonians first established a collective cemetery at the edge of town rather than sectarian burials in churchyards. The nineteenth century plan for Old Cemetery (entrance right) is distinguished by family plots, vertical and elaborate stone monuments, and remembrance plantings. The earliest known burial is 1811. In 1880, the city purchased a parcel of land west of the railroad for New Cemetery (once known as Westview; across RR right) and another tract in 1882 encompassing the 1881 Confederate re-internment site.
Twentieth century cemeteries emerged as for-profit ventures. In 1904, Fairview Cemetery (across RR left) opened offering single gravesites as well as family plots and perpetual care service until passing into city hands in 1926. Madison Memorial Cemetery (entrance left), started in 1958 as Morgan Memorial Park, Inc., developed as a lawn cemetery — popular for uniform flush markers, lack of vegetation, and ease of care. The property became a civic Cemetery in 1979.
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