Home > United States of America > Minnesota > Clay County > Kragnes Township > North Buffalo Cemetery

North Buffalo Cemetery

Memorials	:	77
Location	:	Kragnes Township, Clay County, USA
Coordinate	:	47.0210400, -96.7424300
Description	:	For more information on the history of North Buffalo Cemetery and those buried there, or any other inquiries, please contact the North Buffalo Cemetery Association at [email protected] Like many churches throughout the midwest, the North Buffalo Lutheran Church's cemetery predates the congregation itself. The original parcel of land for the church and cemetery was donated in October, 1894 by Peder M. & Olgard Tufton to the "North Buffalo River Cemetery Association," of which Ole E. Tangen, H. Jacob Wentzell and Olaus Erickson were trustees. The cemetery is 1.8 acres and is located in the SW¼ of the... Read More	For more information on the history of North Buffalo Cemetery and those buried there, or any other inquiries, please contact the North Buffalo Cemetery Association at [email protected] Like many churches throughout the midwest, the North Buffalo Lutheran Church's cemetery predates the congregation itself. The original parcel of land for the church and cemetery was donated in October, 1894 by Peder M. & Olgard Tufton to the "North Buffalo River Cemetery Association," of which Ole E. Tangen, H. Jacob Wentzell and Olaus Erickson were trustees. The cemetery is 1.8 acres and is located in the SW¼ of the SE¼ of Section 15, Kragnes Township, Clay County, MN, against the east side of the Buffalo River. A meeting was held on Dec. 10, 1894 at which the purchasing of planks for a bridge to be built to cross the ditch between the road (120th Ave. N.) was discussed. With the cemetery being established around Oct., 1894, Olgard (Grove) Tufton is believed to have been the first burial in the cemetery on Jan. 29, 1895, only three months after she and her husband donated the cemetery land. Three graves older than Olgard's appear to have been moved to North Buffalo in its early years from nearby Concordia Cemetery. Many Norwegian immigrant families who lived near the cemetery belonged to the Concordia Lutheran Church, located several miles south of the cemetery in Moland Township. There was interest in organizing a church in Kragnes Township, so the "North Buffalo River Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Congregation" was organized on Jan. 6, 1896 in the Brendemuhl School across the road from the present church. A church building was built in the middle of the cemetery during the year 1897. Around 1897, the North Buffalo congregation took ownership of the cemetery and began managing it, and the cemetery association appears to have disbanded at that time. The church soon became known as "North Buffalo Lutheran Church" and likewise the word ‘river' was dropped from the cemetery's name at some point too and it became known as "North Buffalo Cemetery." The "church warden" of the North Buffalo Church was responsible, at least in part, for the maintenance and operation of the cemetery during the early years. He was paid $2 for each grave he was asked to dig, and a committee of Peder Tufton, H. Jacob Wentzell, and Thore Larson was elected to dig graves in March, 1899. A fence was built in ca. 1915, and was later removed. By the 1930s, a horse-drawn mower and dump rake were used to mow and collect the grass. Several members then purchased rotary mowers and they took turns taking care of the weekly mowing task. In 1957, a new church building was built to the east of the cemetery on land donated by Thilda and Melvin Tufton. The old church building was sold and moved to Moorhead. North Buffalo Ladies Aid then voted to make the old church site into a memorial garden, with a planning committee to develop the site, which was named "North Buffalo Memorial Gardens." The planning committee maintained the site for three years, then the circles of the Ladies Aid took turns maintaining the gardens until ca. 2013. The volunteer system of mowing was discontinued around 1967 and bids have been taken since then for hiring it out. The North Buffalo Church organized a cemetery committee as a standing (permanent) committee of the congregation in 1974, and first cemetery policies were adopted. Graves were hand-dug in the early years, but digging is hired nowadays. Robert Reff drew up a cemetery map in 1975, and today the map is kept via a computer spreadsheet program. Lots contain two graves apiece. A cemetery gate was erected in memory of Oliver and Florence Tufton in 1986. A cemetery directory sign containing a map and cemetery policies was donated in 2011, as were gravestones for several of the cemetery's unmarked graves. Several dozen evergreen trees which had been planted around the cemetery in 1944, were removed in 2008. The North Buffalo Church owned and operated the cemetery until Jan. 25, 2015, when the cemetery association was reorganized as "North Buffalo Cemetery Association, Inc." The parcel of land on which the church and cemetery lie, was surveyed into two separate parcels, so the church and cemetery could operate autonomously from one another, although control of the cemetery association is still maintained largely by the church members. The first officers of the cemetery association were Paul Fossum, President and Treasurer; L. Charles Brendemuhl, Vice President; Gary Sauter, Secretary; Stan DeJong, Director; and Jim Powers, Director. Active members of the North Buffalo Church at that time and non-church members who were current lot owners made up the charter membership of the association. The cemetery association's annual meeting is held at the end of each January in North Buffalo Church.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is North Buffalo Cemetery?
North Buffalo Cemetery is located at Kragnes Township, Clay County ,Minnesota ,USA.
North Buffalo Cemetery cemetery's updated grave count on graveviews.com?
76 memorials
Where are the coordinates of the North Buffalo Cemetery?
Latitude: 47.0210400
Longitude: -96.7424300

Photos:

1 / 11

2 / 11

3 / 11

4 / 11

5 / 11

6 / 11

7 / 11

8 / 11

9 / 11

10 / 11

11 / 11

❮ ❯

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Oak Mound Cemetery
Kragnes Township, Clay County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9906120, -96.7945080

2. Fridhem Swedish Cemetery
Oakport Township, Clay County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9763985, -96.7981033

3. Osterdalen Lutheran Church Cemetery
Harwood Township, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 47.0275764, -96.8341217

4. Wild Rose Cemetery
Georgetown, Clay County, USA
Coordinate: 47.0793580, -96.8045710

5. Concordia Cemetery
Moland Township, Clay County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9630820, -96.6602370

6. Leif Erikson Cemetery
Moland Township, Clay County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9496000, -96.6599000

7. Cass County Cemetery #2
Fargo, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9272200, -96.7789000

8. Cass County Cemetery #1
Fargo, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9244400, -96.7769500

9. Old Methodist Cemetery
Georgetown Township, Clay County, USA
Coordinate: 47.1218500, -96.7278000

10. Cass County Cemetery #3
Fargo, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9238800, -96.7858400

11. Old Kirkeboe Cemetery
Georgetown Township, Clay County, USA
Coordinate: 47.1226200, -96.7284000

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

13. Beth El Cemetery
Fargo, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9192429, -96.8016281

14. Fargo Hebrew Congregation Cemetery
Fargo, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9191970, -96.8028940

15. Springvale Cemetery
Fargo, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9192200, -96.8041229

16. Holy Cross Cemetery
Fargo, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9192276, -96.8095093

17. Saint Joseph's Cemetery
Moorhead, Clay County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9063988, -96.7592010

18. Riverside Cemetery
Moorhead, Clay County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9062653, -96.7609711

19. Messiah Lutheran Church Columbarium
Fargo, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9059640, -96.7772130

20. Saint Stephens Episcopal Memorial Garden
Fargo, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9060770, -96.7803950

21. Nora South Pioneer Cemetery
Wiser Township, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 47.1246643, -96.8356857

22. Sheyenne Pioneer Cemetery
Reed Township, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 46.9493332, -96.9035797

23. Kirkebo Cemetery
Lee Township, Norman County, USA
Coordinate: 47.1516991, -96.7688980

24. North Nora Pioneer Cemetery
Wiser Township, Cass County, USA
Coordinate: 47.1369591, -96.8358154

North Buffalo Cemetery

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Photos:

Memorials:

Nearby Cemetories: