National Register of Historic Places in 1989. Located at 19th Street and 5th Avenue, it was originally outside of Meridian's city limits and was intended to be a rural cemetery, but the city has since expanded and annexed the area containing the cemetery. The cemetery contains generations of German and Alsatian immigrants, as well as many big names of the largely mercantile Jewish community of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Beth Israel Cemetery is the only remaining built memorial for many of Meridian's early Jews since the era of the 1879 and 1906 temple buildings, neither of which still stands. A stuccoed brick fence with cast iron gates and an iron Star of David enclose the cemetery. Within the walls, there are two main pathways which meet in the center of the cemetery at a circular decorative piece including a fountain. The oldest graves are in the northern half of the cemetery while newer graves were added progressively south. Many grave sites are adorned with well-maintained Victorian era funerary art, which gives the cemetery its historic significance. Among the monuments include the grave enclosure of the Winner family, which includes a bronze bust of Mark Winner, and two marble angels at the entrance of the plot. Other examples include the grave of David L. Rosenbaum, topped with marble shoes and stockings, the grave of Julius Elson, marked by a carved marble fainting couch, and a memorial to Mattimore Meyer, featuring a marble angel. Because the cemetery is so small – only – it cannot be fully compared to such prolific rural cemeteries as Mount Auburn Cemetery in Massachusetts, but it was clearly laid out in the rural cemetery fashion. Many of the first people buried here were European immigrants, so that could explain why there are no trees on the property. Jewish cemeteries in Europe are generally not planted with trees because of the possibility that roots could disturb the bodies. Decline of the Jewish community Congregation Beth Israel experienced decline along with the rest of the city and state's Jewish community. The Jewish population in Mississippi peaked in 1927 at 6,420 and has since decreased steadily. By 2001, only 1,500 Jews remained in the state. Children of the original Jewish immigrants – mostly merchants – were more interested in going to college to become professionals than taking over family businesses. The rise of national retail chains pressured