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Arthur Cemetery

Memorials	:	6
Location	:	Arthur, Cass County, USA
Coordinate	:	47.0943985, -97.2193985
Description	:	The Arthur Cemetery is located about a ¼ mile south of the town of Arthur on Old Highway 18, though still within the city limits. Its size is 4.14 acres and it is owned by the City of Arthur. There are four blocks, each containing several eight-grave lots. It is said that John Schlaet and his wife Caroline (Goede) Iwen-Schlaet gave land for the cemetery to St. John Lutheran Church (German Lutheran) of Arthur, to be used as a burial ground for the Lutherans. Before the use of the English language, the church was referred to by... Read More	The Arthur Cemetery is located about a ¼ mile south of the town of Arthur on Old Highway 18, though still within the city limits. Its size is 4.14 acres and it is owned by the City of Arthur. There are four blocks, each containing several eight-grave lots. It is said that John Schlaet and his wife Caroline (Goede) Iwen-Schlaet gave land for the cemetery to St. John Lutheran Church (German Lutheran) of Arthur, to be used as a burial ground for the Lutherans. Before the use of the English language, the church was referred to by its German name "Evangelische Lutherische St. Johannes Gemeinde." The church was organized in 1888 and Mr. & Mrs. Schlaet were among its charter members. They are both buried in the cemetery. The oldest marked burial in the cemetery is Mr. and Mrs. Schlaet's grandson, Albert Friedrich Iwen, who died on Feb. 4, 1892 and was buried on Feb. 6, 1892, although there very well could be older, unmarked graves than his. The oldest portion of the cemetery is the northeast section (Block 1). As the community of Arthur was settled in 1879, it is not known if there was ever another community burial ground established then, or if the present cemetery is the only one to ever serve the community. While the cemetery may have originally been named after the St. John Church, it was being referred to as "Arthur Cemetery" by 1906, as stated in the obituary of Jennie Head. Rev. A. J. "Dad" Hoeger, pastor of the St. John Lutheran Church from 1918-30, staked out the cemetery boundaries and placed the cornerstones, which were eventually covered up by sifting dirt. Later, they could not be found so it had to be re-surveyed. When it became necessary to bury Methodists (the Arthur United Methodist Church was organized in 1908), the Lutherans said it was okay, but they were to be buried on the south side of the road in the cemetery. It was not long until this changed and the different sects are now mixed up. The St. John congregation operated and maintained the cemetery for probably a little over 40 years. A small treasurer's/sexton's book 1920-27 contains expenses and receipts for the cemetery, a record of lot sales during those years, and a few burial permits as well. Interesting to note is that the balance of the cemetery treasury was $87.19 on Jan. 1, 1927. August E. Sommerfeld was sexton from ca. 1920 until his death in 1960 and was treasurer for many of those years. Eventually, the expense of maintaining the cemetery became too great for the St. John Congregation to handle, so at their annual meeting on Jan. 8, 1935, they voted to ask the Arthur City Council if they would take over the cemetery property and management thereof. The Arthur City Council accepted the proposal and the St. John congregation voted in favor of this 55 to 14. The city has owned and maintained the cemetery ever since this date, to the relief of the church and benefit of the entire community. A cemetery board now operates the cemetery and has for many decades. William Timmermann and his nephew, William "Bill" Timmermann (1912-79), built the brick pillars which line the south and east borders of the cemetery around the 1930s/40s. Rumors were that horses were also buried in the cemetery. This seems true, as in later years when graves were being dug, horse bones were found. A dog is buried on the north border. The graves were hand-dug well into the 1980s, even though there were machines that could be used by that time. A veterans memorial monument was erected in the cemetery and dedicated on Memorial Day in 1980. Carl Petersen and the Iwen brothers (Bert and Joanne's kids) have told of digging graves when they were school-aged. They have said that the placement of caskets were not very well marked and many times, so close together that when digging a new grave they would hit a casket, so they just moved over a little and kept on digging, which sometimes made it a little challenging for lowering the new casket. In the winter time, they would pour gasoline on the frozen ground and light it on fire to thaw out the ground so they could dig. When they dug through the thawed portion, they would pour on more gas, light it and so on until they were below the frost line and could dig the unfrozen ground. Sometimes winters were too harsh and burials had to be delayed until spring. Local resident and businessman Paul Lako has dug most of the graves in the cemetery since about 2005. Records of the Arthur Cemetery have been kept consistently since 1931, and the cemetery board keeps these records. The St. John Lutheran Church minister's logs contain many burial dates and death records for individuals buried in the cemetery from ca. 1892 to present day. Sextons and board members of the cemetery in recent decades have included Bert Iwen, Melvin Nyberg, Rand Nyberg, Gale Hill, Joe Peltier, Kerm Nedrebo, and Don Paul.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Arthur Cemetery?
Arthur Cemetery is located at Arthur, Cass County ,North Dakota ,USA.
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6 memorials
Where are the coordinates of the Arthur Cemetery?
Latitude: 47.0943985
Longitude: -97.2193985

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Good Samaritan Cemetery
Arthur, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 47.1114006, -97.2161026

2. Amenia Cemetery
Amenia Township, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 47.0092430, -97.2418290

3. Saint Martins Cemetery
Amenia Township, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 47.0217018, -97.3099976

4. Rose Valley Cemetery
Gunkel Township, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 47.1431007, -97.0911026

5. Hunter Cemetery
Hunter, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 47.1946945, -97.2272034

6. Erie Cemetery
Erie, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 47.1222000, -97.3996964

7. Herby Lutheran Cemetery
Berlin Township, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 47.0210304, -97.0688095

8. William Ledger Richardson Family Cemetery
Hunter Township, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 47.2314303, -97.2290299

9. Argusville Cemetery
Berlin Township, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 47.0574989, -96.9841995

10. Golliet Cemetery
Kinyon Township, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 47.1925700, -97.0060420

11. Gardner Cemetery
Gardner, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 47.1443634, -96.9692764

12. Grandin Cemetery
Traill County, USA
Coordinate: 47.2439003, -97.0697021

13. Cass County Central Cemetery
Ayr Township, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 47.0206400, -97.4732250

14. Saint Leos Cemetery
Casselton, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.8967018, -97.2061005

15. Casselton Cemetery
Casselton, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.8947754, -97.2073135

16. Wheatland Cemetery
Wheatland, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9117012, -97.3396988

17. Stordahl Cemetery
Galesburg, Traill County, USA
Coordinate: 47.2824320, -97.3463770

18. Elm River Cemetery
Galesburg, Traill County, USA
Coordinate: 47.2686005, -97.4156036

19. Bohnsack Cemetery
Bohnsack Township, Traill County, USA
Coordinate: 47.3036003, -97.1138992

20. Lower Maple River Cemetery
Raymond Township, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9693985, -96.9244003

21. Mapleton Cemetery
Mapleton, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.8875008, -97.0436020

22. Oakwood Cemetery
Harwood Township, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9911003, -96.8953018

23. Maple Sheyenne Cemetery
Raymond Township, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9353333, -96.9362335

24. Fargo National Cemetery
Raymond Township, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9358900, -96.9345400

Arthur Cemetery

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Memorials:

Nearby Cemetories: