Cedar Hill Cemetery is expanding.

The Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen Tuesday approved the purchase of 6 acres of land on Sky Farm Avenue from the estate of Ernest Thomas for $18,000.

The property is in the front part of the cemetery on the Sky Farm Avenue side.

Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said city officials approached the family about the land.

“We need land; we’re running out of land up there,” Flaggs said. He said the city will build paved streets on the property, adding that street signs have been installed.

The expansion is the second in less than a year for the cemetery. The board in October 2021 accepted the transfer of three pieces of property on Sky Farm Avenue from the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office to the city to enlarge the cemetery.

The three tracts, 617 Sky Farm Ave., 1735 Sky Farm Ave. and 1625 Sky Farm Ave., were adjacent to the southern end of the cemetery. All three properties were not claimed during Warren County tax sales and forfeited to the state.

Under state law, properties that are put up for sale for past due property taxes are transferred to the state if they have not been claimed by the property owner or someone else after three years.

According to the city’s website, Cedar Hill is one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in the U.S. still in use. Its initial plotting was in 1837.