Faison Cemetery
Why it's listed
Faison Cemetery occupies 6.55 acres at the eastern edge of Faison in Duplin County, and its oldest section, under two acres, shelters the graves of the town's founding families beneath magnolias, live oaks and cedars. The first known burial is Henry Faison in 1788, and the ground became the community cemetery in 1892 when Isham R. Faison deeded land to the Faison Cemetery Association. Interments include Thomas Hicks, a militia leader and provincial congress member, William L. Hill, a state militia general and railroad promoter, Bryan Whitfield Herring, a state senator, and John Miller Faison, a United States congressman. Mary Lyde Hicks Williams, a portrait painter, is also buried here. The markers range from early nineteenth-century marble head and footstones to granite obelisks and tablets, including a few signed by a Raleigh monument works. Its collection of markers is regarded as a representative record of funerary art in the coastal plain.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the cemetery holds graves of people who shaped Faison's development, including military and political leaders, physicians, a congressman and an artist. It also argues the cemetery contains a range of nineteenth-century funerary art, including baroque head and footstones, box-tombs, obelisks and tablets, reflecting regional craftsmanship and trade patterns.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 06000291, listed April 19, 2006. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | East Main St. (NC 403), Faison |
|---|---|
| County | Duplin County |
| Listed | April 19, 2006 |
| Reference number | 06000291 |
| Resource type | Site |
| Period of significance | 1788-1944 |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Social History, Art |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 2.3 |
| Coordinates | 35.11587, -78.13220 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Sites (archaeological sites, battlefields, landscapes) are often listed with a restricted address to protect them from looting or disturbance. Listing is honorary for private owners; federal undertakings on or near the site go through Section 106 review, and state laws may protect burials and artefacts regardless of listing.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 06000291.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18389808
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.