VIDEO: Mississippi’s Fifth National Cemetery Is Expected To Bring Huge Economic Impact To North Mississippi

KILMICHAEL, Miss. (WCBI)-It’s been over a year now since construction work started on The North Mississippi Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Montgomery County.

It’s going to be one of the burial grounds for soldiers from any military branch from anywhere in the country.

When drivers pass through Montgomery County on Highway 82, they won’t help but be able to notice the beautiful landmark.

“Awesome,” said Sue Stidham, Montgomery County Economic Development Partnership Director.

“Outstanding,” said Mark Lawson, director of The North Mississippi Veterans Memorial Cemetery.

“Truly delightful,” said Kilmichael mayor Bobby Howell.

Those are the first words city and county leaders said comes to mind when they ride by and see the cemetery in Montgomery County.

It’s located in the small town of Kilmichael, which has a population of less than 700 residents.

“I almost have to pinch myself to make sure that this is all real,” said Stidham.

“I don’t think many of us right now can realize the potential that it has for our community, especially in the way of exposure. We are a little small town and we have a motto, it’s “The Town That Cares” and this will only add to that motto,” said Mayor Howell.

The cemetery is just one of five national cemeteries in Mississippi.

It covers over 50 acres of land, and once all of the construction work is completed, it’ll have enough space to bury more than 110, 000 soldiers.

“That’s what it’s all about is to be able to serve our veterans and their families during a time of grief,” said Lawson.

Lawson tells WCBI it’s been a long 15 months of hard work but he’s happy with the way things are turning out.

“We are about 85% complete with the project,” he said. “We’ve got, the buildings are all complete, we’ve got some landscaping left.”

Once the cemetery is completed and ready to be opened, both city and county leaders are expecting it to have a huge economic impact on the area.

“They’ll work six or eight employees which helps in any small town when you can provide a few more jobs,” said Mayor Howell.

“I think it will bring a lot of stuff to Montgomery county, and the Kilmichael community,” Lawson explained.  “It’s going to bring a lot of traffic for one, its going to bring a lot of interest for another. I know that the tri-counties Grenada, Carroll, Webster County, Montgomery county they’re all excited.”

“And the visitors adds to the sales tax, but still my number one priority on all of this is being able to honor the soldiers,” said Stidham.

There’s still no date set yet on when the cemetery will be opened.