Use cemeteries as a reason to travel our back roads and explore our countryside!
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McPherson Cemetery - Southeast part of McPherson at Maxwell Street and Avenue A. Look for these interesting graves.
- Charles A. Champlin, father of the founder of the Champlin Oil Co., died in 1890. Champlin had lived at 422 S Walnut in a Victorian house that still stands.
- A former slave, "Uncle Peter Smith", died March 14, 1888.
- James L. "Doc" Lewis, a serviceman killed in 1941 in the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
- Phillip Wickersham, former superintendent of schools, and his daughter, Lulu Wickersham, a former teacher, after whom the Wickersham School was named.
- A. W. "Farmer" Smith who was thought to have won the 1892 election as governor of Kansas, only to have the position taken away when the Populist vote from western Kansas was counted.
- August San Romani, a long-time band director after whom the Lakeside Park band shell was named.
- Mary McGowan who died in April 12, 1933 Grand Building fire in downtown McPherson.
- William Harklerhodes, a 93-year old who died in 1906, is remember with these words, "Voted in 17 presidential elections."
- The grouping of four siblings, ages 3, 4, 6 and 8, the children of J. B. Jackson, died in between January 4 and 14, 1888.
- Samuel T. Bostion (1869 - 1949) is buried in a row with three other stones with the names Lillie May Bostion, Mary E. Bostion and Ethel Lee Bostion. Each stone says "Wife of S. T."
ROXBURY AREA
VALLEY VIEW CEMETERY (formerly Roxbury Cemetery): Established in 1877, this cemetery is located one mile east of Roxbury. It's a beautiful and well-kept cemetery. The founder of Roxbury, B. B. Gates is buried near the center of the cemetery. There is an iron fence around his grave and a flag pole in front of it. Many veterans of all wars are buried here. The markers show that many Civil War soldiers moved to this area after the war. The oldest stone is dated 1823 and is Hulbert, the son of L and E Reese.
EUREKA CEMETERY (formerly Tolle, Burch and Hope Cemetery): Located two mile north, 1 1/2 miles east of Roxbury and 1/4 mile south of the road. This small cemetery is found out in the prairie on a bluff, overlooking Gypsum Creek.
GALVA AREA
EMPIRE CEMETERY: From U.S. 56 and County Road 307 near Galva turn south for two miles. Look for a D.A.R. marker for Fuller's Ranch (first white settlement in the county). Continue south for 3/4 mile. The oldest burial is that of Michael Sauer who died in 1873 after being lost in a blizzard.
WINDOM AREA
ANDOVER LUTHERAN CEMETERY: Located 5 1/2 miles south of U.S. 56 on 1st Avenue. This cemetery reflects the Swedish dominance of the area.
LINDSBORG AREA
You'll be able to tell that you're in a Swedish settlement area because most of the names on the gravestones end in "son" and some monuments are written in Swedish.
ELMWOOD CEMETERY: Located 1/2 mile east of K-4 (Harrison) on the south side of Wells Fargo Road. The 4,500 markers in this Lutheran cemetery date back to the 1870s and many older ones are written in Swedish. A monument in the center honors World War I, II and Vietnam veterans. An obelisk in the center marks the grave of Dr. Carl A Swenson, founder of Bethany College.
FREEMOUNT CEMETERY: Located five miles west, two south of Lindsborg or one mile south and three east of Marquette between Sioux and Smoky Valley Roads. About 400 markers form the 1870s to current are found at this Swedish Lutheran cemetery.
SMOKY HILL CEMETERY: Established in 1870 by Bethany Church. Located at the southeast base of Coronado Heights. Two miles north and one mile west of northwest Lindsborg on the north side of Winchester Road between 12th and 13th Avenues. About 400 markers including a monument on the east side honoring Olaf Olson, founder of Bethany Church.
KENTUCKY CREEK CEMETERY: Established between 1884 and 1903. Located one mile south, 2 3/4 east, 1/4 south of Lindsborg. There are approximately 24 markers with a dozen different family names.
MARQUETTE AREA
LUTHERAN CEMETERY: Located 3/4 miles west of Marquette on 6th street. Established in 1873, many Swedish settlers from the Marquette area are buried here and a number of tombstones are written in Swedish. Grave on the west edge are those of the Johannes Blomquist family and tell of a tragedy that happened on June 23, 1883. The son, Car Gustaf, was fetching water when his straw hat blew into the well. He climbed down to get it, and was killed by a deadly poisonous gas. The father climbed down to get the son, and he, too, died from the gas. The mother climbed down to see what was wrong and also died.
MARQUETTE CEMETERY: Established in 1895. The co-founders of Marquette, H. S. Bacon and J. A. Foster, and the victims of the May 8, 1905 tornado are buried here.
INMAN AREA
AMISH MENNONITE CEMETERY: Located northwest of Inman on Cimarron Road between 4th and 5th Avenues. Established in 1877, this congregation was moved to Harper about 1900. There are less than 50 markers.
MENNONITE CEMETERIES: Zoar Cemetery located between 7th and 8th Avenues on Arrowhead; Hoffnungsau Cemetery located on 13th Avenue between Arapaho and Apache; the old Bethel Church Cemetery at the intersection of 8th and Buckskin. Many of the inscriptions in these cemeteries are written in German. Homelands are listed as Deutschland and Russia.
MOUNDRIDGE AREA
HOPEFIELD MENNONITE CEMETERY: This Swiss Mennonite cemetery is located 4 miles west, 1/2 north and 1/4 east of Moundridge. It was at this historic site that Swiss Mennonites who migrated from Russia settled in October 1874 finding shelter in the immigrant house provided by the Santa Fe Railroad. Being the only cemetery in the area, it also served neighbors and paupers. Some early graves are unmarked. Elder Jacob Stucky was the leader in Russia and America. Buried in the Hopefield Cemetery, his upright marker is engraved in German on one side and English on the other. The largest tombstone marks the grave of Joseph Schrag, early entrepreneur and co-founder of Alta Mill in Harvey County.
Hopefield Church, built in 1882, is the oldest Mennonite church building in continuous use in Kansas.
MOUND TOWNSHIP CEMETERY: Established in 1891, this cemetery is located one mile west of Moundridge. Thornton C. J. Cole, first settler in Moundridge, is buried here.
FRENCH BAPTIST CEMETERY: Located east of Moundridge on Arrowhead between 26th and 27th Avenues. See names like Lagree, Belair, Ponton, and Chartrand in this small cemetery.
Information taken from a McPherson Sentinel article by Kathy Hackleman.