Woodland Cemetery (Des Moines, Iowa)
 |
|
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1848 |
| Location | 2019 Woodland Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 41°35′22″N 93°38′53″W / 41.589486°N 93.648094°WCoordinates: 41°35′22″N 93°38′53″W / 41.589486°N 93.648094°W |
| Type | Municipal |
| Size | 69 acres (28 ha) |
| Find a Grave | Woodland Cemetery |
Woodland Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Des Moines, Iowa, having been established in 1848, before Des Moines was the state capital. It is a municipal cemetery that is owned and operated by the Des Moines Parks and Recreation Department. It covers 69 acres (28 ha) at the corner of 20th Street and Woodland Ave and is the site of over 80,000 graves.
The cemetery was created in 1848 when five local farmers donated 5.5 acres (2.2 ha) of land to create it. It was originally called Fort Des Moines Cemetery. The first burial took place in 1850. The city took ownership of the cemetery in 1857, and purchased an additional 36.5 acres in 1864. It has since been expanded to 69 acres (28 ha) and now houses over 80,000 graves. The City Receiving Vault, which was used to store bodies when the ground was too frozen for graves to be dug, was built in the 1880s.
Within the grounds are subsections. These include St. Ambrose Cemetery (relocated from elsewhere in Des Moines in 1866), the Emmanuel Jewish Cemetery founded in 1871, and an Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery.
In 1986, the city council of Des Moines designated the cemetery a local historic landmark. Various restoration projects have been undertaken in recent years. A new arch over the entrance was constructed in 2012. An effort to restore the mausoleum of Samuel Merrill, the seventh governor of Iowa was started. A project to add markers to hundreds of previously unmarked children's graves on "Baby Hill" from the earliest days of the cemetery concluded successfully in April 2017.
A number of historic neighborhoods are near the cemetery, including Sherman Hill to the east, Woodland Place to the west, Ingersoll Place to the southwest.
...
Wikipedia