Library staff have used a variety of resources to compile the following cemetery indexes. The Genealogical Society of Iredell County did a lot of work on county cemeteries back in the 1980s and 1990s. Their files were most used in the research of cemeteries. Society members Russell and Irene Black compiled the last county-wide survey in 1999. All seven volumes are available to view at the library. Volume 4 lists the abandoned cemeteries that they visited during their research. Member Mildred Miller was a certified genealogist and she also conducted research on cemeteries which was published in her 1990 book Time Is, Time Was: Gravestone Art, Burial Customs, and History, Iredell County, North Carolina. Katherine Alexander was another researcher who took meticulous notes on the cemeteries she researched. Her collection was donated to the library upon her death in 2011. The unfortunate part of using these sources is that most location descriptions use the old State Road numbers prior to the installation of the 911 system. Staff have attempted to track down or use Google Maps to determine roads, but some roads have changed and no longer match up to the descriptions given. The indexes contain these outdated descriptions in the hope that residents who are familiar with the old roads will come forward and clarify locations.

The Iredell County Tax Office and GIS Mapping Division also assisted in compiling information. Cemeteries are tax exempt property so the Tax Office provided the list of cemeteries that they have registered in their records. The GIS department has created a map of all the known cemeteries in the county. All locations on their map have links to the Find A Grave listing online. Find A Grave is the most popular online resource for cemeteries. Although it is user supported, like Wikipedia, and not all information has been validated or confirmed, the majority of the information on the site is accurate and most contributors are willing to make changes when someone suggests an edit for a memorial. 

All of those resources were used to create the cemetery indexes. As new information becomes available, staff will update the indexes. When attempting to find graveyards and gain access to them, especially cemeteries on private property, consult the North Carolina State Laws concerning cemeteries and abide by local laws. If you have additional information on any of the cemeteries in these indexes, or unknown cemeteries not listed, please fill out our cemetery survey form or contact Local History and Genealogy staff.