Riverside Cemetery guide, news

Archive

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Saugatuck Douglas Historical Society

Name/Title

Riverside Cemetery guide, news

Entry/Object ID

2023.18.15

Scope and Content

Brochure that tells a brief story about many of the people burred at Riverside Cemetery. The collection includes many copies of the brochure plus the original pasted versions used for photocopies. An introduction reads: When the first settlers arrived in Saugatuck in 1830 there was already an old Indian cemetery on "The Flats," the level area at the foot of the hill. It was located near where the City Hall is now, where the Kalamazoo River turns west and broadens into a lake. Setters began using the area for burials and a writer who visited the town in 1859 wrote: "The cemetery is situated in the midst of the village, on the corner of one of the business streets, and fenced with an old Virginia rail fence." In the early 1860s the health department urged a move further away from town. In 1869 a notice was published in the Saugatuck Commercial ordering "the removal of all graves now lying outside of cemetery lots and also those lying in the alleys. Such graves will be moved by the authorities unless immediately removed by their relatives and friends." Records for the new cemetery show burials beginning in 1864. For many years it was just known as the Saugatuck Cemetery, but in 1920 a letter in the local newspaper proposed that the cemetery be named, and offered the suggestion "Riverside." This was adopted, although the cemetery is not near the river. The remains of the Indian cemetery were excavated during downtown construction. In 1930, at the Saugatuck centennial celebration, a boulder with a bronze plaque "In Memory of the First Indian Burying Ground, 1800 to 1850" was dedicated and a few remains were reburied in a mound nearby. By 1980, the significance of the little hiss was forgotten and it was leveled when the street was widened. The commemorative stone still stands on Culver Street. The guide then lists short blurbs about the following individuals or families with the plot locations numbered on a map. 1. Franklin B. Wallin 2. Loomis 3. Joseph J. Richards 4. Winnie's Little Sister, daughter of H.D. and T.W. Moore 5. William T. Hoy 6. Hutty 7. Van Dine 8. Frank B. Heyden 9. Richard D. Rode 10. Brittain 11. Samuel Johnson 12. Nichols 13. Stimson 14. Zwemer 15. Butler 16. Stephen A. Morrison 17. Henry J. Breukmann 18. George T. Arnold 19. Taylor Lake Ridge Farm - James Franklin Taylor 20. Aurelius MacMillan 21. Shashaguay 22. Bird 23. Fritz Walz 24. Reed 25. Capt. Charles H. Diepenhorst 26. Bartlett 27. Capt. J.N. Upham 28. David A. Bennett 29. Fred Stearns 30. Elisha Tracy 31. John F. Henry 32. Vernon H. Christopher 33. Carl Hoerman 34. Babyland 35. Julia Morrison Francis 36. May Francis Heath 37. Francis M. Heath 38. Bessie M. Rulison 39. Richard B. Newnham 40. Reuben W. Sewers Sr. 41. Dr. Robert J. Walker 42. Jeannette (Walker) Barr 43. Abigail Astle White 44. Brown family 45. George Harold Niles 46. Elmer E. Weed 47. Grossbauers 48. new trends in gravestones 49. Pappas 50. Terry D. Love

Context

The educational publication was produced by the Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society in 1996

Collection

Cemeteries and graves

Cataloged By

Winthers, Sally

Acquisition

Accession

2023.18

Acquisition Method

Found in Collection

Archive Details

Creator

SDHS Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society 1986-2017

Date(s) of Creation

1996

Dimensions

Height

14 in

Width

8-1/2 in

Location

Box

076 Parks and Cemeteries

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Riverside Cemetery 1864-, Wallin, Franklin Bogue 1832-1908, Richards, Charles, Hoy, Dr. William Tarlton 1818-1900, Parking Lot/249 Mason/Captain R.C. Brittain house c.1868-1967, Stimson, Dr. Henry H. 1824-1916, Butler, James Gay 1840-1916, Morrison, Stephen A. Jr. 1815-1905, Breuckman, Henry J. 1820-?, Arnold, George Thomas 1846-1921, Taylor, James Franklin 1824-1903 Reverend, Bird, Henry Sr. 1817-1915, Bird, Charles Edmund Sr. 1855-1941, Bird, Harriet “Hattie” Louise (Moffat) (Wright) 1855-1944, Walz, Fritz "Fred" 1858-1934, Reed, Samuel Caleb 1848-1923, Bennett, David A. 1889-1953, Stearns, Fred 1885-1967, Henry, John F. 1834/6-1918, Hoerman, Carl 1885-1955, Hoerman, Christiana A., Francis, Julia E. (Morrison) 1846-1924, Heath, May (Francis) 1873-1961, Heath, Francis M. "Ted" 1900-1977, Sewers, Reuben Washington Sr. 1850-1939, Walker, Dr. Robert J.1869-1944, Barr, Jeanette (Walker) 1902-1979, Brown, Ida H. (Deming) 1863-1920, Niles, George Harold 1880/1-1924, Weed, Elmer E. "Deac" 1865-1936, Rode, Richard Diedrick 1826-1881, MacMillan, Aurelius C. 1830-1872, Christoffer, Vernon H. 1949-1968

Create Date

July 16, 2023

Update Date

February 4, 2024