Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Cemetery Directory

Have you ever driven to a cemetery to find a grave only to discover the cemetery is huge, nobody is "at home" in the office and you have no clue where to start looking?  Many larger cemeteries have directories of some sort that assist in locating graves.

The North Platte Cemetery (North Platte, NE) is located on West Rodeo Road which is also Highway 30.  It is on 30 developed acres, with an additional 15 acres undeveloped for future needs.  The original cemetery in the 1860s was located at Fourth and Locust Streets which is now in-town.  The North Platte Cemetery Association was established on 13 December 1872.  They purchased five acres of land at $20 per acre for a new cemetery.  About six months later the land was divided into lots and offered for $10 each.  In 1884 Mrs. William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) sold an additional 10 acres of land to the association, making a total of 15 acres.

Through the years the cemetery has developed and enlarged in size, making it almost impossible to locate a grave without some assistance or map.  The North Platte Genealogical Society has established a Electronic Directory Fund at Mid-Nebraska Community Foundation in North Platte.  The intent is to raise $25,000 for the directory, plus more for maintenance.  Because of the 501(c) (3) status of the foundation, donors will be able to make contributions that are tax deductible.  They are hoping that people consider the fund for a memorial designation or a donation in memory of a loved one.

The North Platte Genealogical Society has several money making projects for the future and hope that people will respond to the need for the directory.  With no deadline established for fund raising, it is hoped that soon there will be an electronic directory at the cemetery.

4 comments:

  1. Are you having Windy Prairie Systems (Welding Plus) put yours up? They have excellent electronic and manual directories. We are going to work on one for the cemetery in my town.

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  2. I do know they have been considered. I am more in the way of media coverage, etc. of the fund. It is long needed. I have seen some of their directories and they are great.

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  3. Wow, that is one mother of a cemetery. Good luck with your fund raising.
    David http://lastrp.com

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  4. Large cemeteries really need these. There is an extradordinary cemetery "Cave Hill" in Louisville that is stunningly beautiful and really huge. Something like 300 acres. They were able to look up names in seconds on their computer.

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