RF Beck: brains, energy, character, and industry

VICKSBURG, Miss. by Evan Winschel (VDN) — Today’s featured plot at Cedar Hill Cemetery belongs to the Honorable Robert F. Beck, a Civil War-era transplant whose vision and business acumen helped shape postbellum Vicksburg.

Born in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1839, Beck arrived in Vicksburg in 1865 at the age of 26. Though the city was reeling from the Civil War, Beck—ever the contractor—saw opportunity amid the ruins. According to In and About Vicksburg (1890), Beck exemplified the promise the New South held for men of “brains, energy, character, and industry.”

Soon after his arrival, he opened his own brickyard, the success of which allowed his business portfolio to rapidly expand. Brace yourselves readers, for the following laundry list of activities, which occupied our Mr. Beck.

By 1880, he had purchased Hill City Marble Works, a logical acquisition for the son of a stonecutter, and planted thousands of acres across three plantations in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Mr. Beck put his business astuteness to good use by serving as President of the Vicksburg Building Association, Director of the First National Bank, Organizer and Director of the Home Insurance Company, President of the Yazoo and Tallahatchie Steamboat Line, the Secretary-Treasurer for the Vicksburg and Delta Transportation Company, and serving on boards for the Vicksburg Express Company, the Wharf and Land Company and the Wharf and Elevator Company. We aren’t finished yet!

As if his resume wasn’t full enough, he also found time to serve in the Phoenix Fire Company, a fire engine was named in his honor in 1872. By 1873, he was elected to the position of alderman and was named acting Mayor by July of 1874 after Mayor Benjamin Alvin Lee left office due to health concerns. Eventually he would drop acting from his title and would serve three terms as Mayor before also serving three terms as Warren County Sheriff.

In 1876, Beck married Ellen Rigby. The couple raised two children, Thomas and Mary, at their South Street home, which still stands today and is considered one of Mississippi’s finest examples of Italianate architecture.

By 1891, at the age of 52, Mr. Beck had thoroughly tuckered himself out and passed away from what was described as a “dangerous malarious attack.” The Vicksburg Post later writing, “Mr. Beck’s death, while in the prime of life and at the zenith of his mental powers, is a loss to Vicksburg, and to the State. This community is plunged into grief by his untimely death, and no matter what may have occurred during the heat of political campaigns, no man’s death will be more sincerely regretted than that of Mr. Beck, and no man’s place in the community will be harder to fill.”

Cedar Hill Cemetery Association was formed in 2024 with the goal of assisting the City of Vicksburg in restoration and beautification of our historic Cedar Hill Cemetery. The Association will be presenting its inaugural tour event “Voices from the Hills” on October 16, 17, and 18, 2025 as part of Vicksburg’s Bicentennial Celebrations. For more information or to get involved, contact chcassociation@yahoo.com or visit their Facebook page.