Started during the time of the earliest settlers to the Alexandria area, the original graveyard at this location was taken over by the IOOF sometime around 1860. This benevolent organization added to and beautified the grounds and operated the cemetery as a "permanent and lasting resting place for the departed, of those in as well as out of the order." This cemetery is still one of the prettiest in the county and one of the most visible. The picture above features the veterans' memorial as seen from SR 9, the fall foliage of the trees, and the evergreens planted in 1860. The IOOF Cemetery is still in use. The International Order of Odd Fellows, IOOF, a group devoting themselves to good works, began in England in the last part of the 18th century and spread into the United States in 1818. The first lodge of this benevolent organization in Madison County was started in Pendleton in 1850. By the end 1860, the Necessity Lodge No. 222 was initiated in Alexandria with ten charter members whose last names are of families who helped settle Monroe Township: Heagy, Harriman, Chamness, Pickard, etc. As part of its involvement in the community, IOOF No. 222 purchased land southeast of Alexandria with plans to design a large cemetery "conducted on modern principles." Part of the original twenty-five acres purchased must have already been in use as a burial site since there are legible gravestones with death dates preceding 1860 in the oldest section of the present IOOF Cemetery. The IOOF board of trustees had the property landscaped with trees, evergreens, and drives, making the cemetery, according to Forkner in his 1914 history, "one of the prettiest in Madison County." By mid 20th century, the cemetery had been turned over to the Monroe Township trustee and was in need of restoration. The restoration, including the resetting, cleaning, and re-incising of stones, was accomplished by 1990.