About Mount Hope Cemetery

From our huge moss draped oak trees to the breath taking greenery, it’s easy to see why so many have chosen Mount Hope as their final resting place.

Mount Hope Cemetery is a full service perpetual care cemetery and we take pride in the beautiful surroundings of our cemetery.

Whether you purchase a traditional burial plot or a mausoleum crypt, you can be sure that we will be here tomorrow to maintain the appearance and atmosphere that has long been a tradition at Mount Hope. We have been operating for over 120 years, so you can be sure that our high standards will remain in place tomorrow and for eternity.

Mt. Hope consists of 203 acres of beautifully landscaped Spanish Moss draped oak trees and some of the most picturesque greenery you’ll find anywhere. As a full service perpetual care cemetery, we have a grounds crew that does everything from cutting grass and trimming trees to planting flowers and raking acorns in the fall. So you’ll never have to worry about keeping up your loved ones resting place.

Rich in History

Mount Hope Cemetery began in 1880 when Thomas Williams Williamson and other visionaries came together to create what would become Florence’s longest operating cemetery. Mount Hope is also the resting place for many community and State leaders, as well as some prominent citizens from South Carolina’s colorful history.

Not far from the entrance to the cemetery, an obelisk monument marks the grave site of 64 Confederate soldiers, of which only 3 have been identified. That monument and the soldiers were originally located in the yard of the original site of the First Presbyterian Church on Church Street near the railroad crossing. When the Church moved in 1905, the monument and the soldiers were moved to their permanent resting site at Mount Hope.

A Southern Cross of Honor identifies other Confederate Soldiers who are buried throughout the cemetery. A special ceremony is held at Mount Hope each year on the second Saturday in May to honor those fallen soldiers from another time.

Mount Hope is also the resting place for many community and State leaders, as well as some prominent citizens from South Carolina’s colorful history. Among them is Melvin Purvis, a Florence attorney and former FBI leader who, with his men, brought to justice the notorious John Dillenger, Public Enemy Number One from the 1930’s.