La Plata Cemetery La Plata Cemetery

History of the La Plata Cemetery

Copied from an article written by Cindy Moore for the 2005 Sesquicentennial (1855-2005) book compiled by The Friends for La Plata Preservation. (*** Please note the different variations in the spelling of what we now referred to as Owensby. LB)

What is now known as the La Plata Cemetery, as originally just a small family burial plot on the land of John Porter Owenby. John bought this land from the government on November 11, 1839. The cemetery was started in 1845 with the death and burial of his wife, Hanna Wright Owenby. Close neighbors soon began burying their loved ones there, including the familiar La Plata names of Howell, Hamel, Carpenter, Lilly, Tate, Atteberry, and Moore. When this ¼ acre parcel of land eventually became a public burying ground, and the village of La Plata had grown from a small settlement into a thriving town. Joseph Porter Owenby gave the plot to the City of La Plata for that purpose. That small original plot, although never formally platted, is now called the Owenby Reserve.

On July 25, 1870 the City of La Plata purchased the land surrounding the Owenby Reserve, from Payton and Polly Foster. This land was laid out and platted as a cemetery with each lot measuring 22' by 22'. This land surrounding the Owenby now referred to the Original Tract.

Dr. Josiah Gates sold a parcel of land 326' by 396' to the City on March 16, 1892. This land lies as the First Addition. These cemetery lots measure 11'x22'.

On February 11, 1905 the City acquired what is now known as the Hastings Addition. Six acres were bought from George H. and Phoebe J. Hastings for $3,600, and as part of the transaction, Mr. Hastings gave to the cemetery a 40 acre piece of land directly south of the present cemetery. 20 acres were to be used as a cemetery and 20 acres were for a city park. This land was rented for pasture for many years and a sewer reservoir was built on it in 1926. Later this pasture was turned into a 9-hole golf course.

John L. and Carrie Simmons laid out and platted fourteen lots on July 5, 1926. It was known as the Simmons Addition. The Simmons' donated 80% of the sale of the lots to the Cemetery account. Later this land became known as a part of the Hastings Addition.

In 1932, Ella and Hammond J. Mairens approached the City Council, wanting the Cemetery Association to take in a portion of their land, which adjoined the cemetery on the north and east. The City Council voted to do so on July 22, 1932. That land is now known as the Mairens Addition.

The La Plata Cemetery Association as a voluntary group functioned for a number of years. These voluntary group functioned for a number of years. These volunteers helped carry on the program of care and maintenance of the cemetery, until it could be incorporated as a non-profit organization. The La Plata Cemetery Association was legally incorporated on May 19, 1937. The purpose of the incorporation was stated in the papers as "an association for the purpose of the maintenance, repair, and upkeep of the La Plata City Cemetery." The first board of directors included Mollie Hamel, Delia Naughton, L.E. Tansil, J.L. Simmons, D.S. Christie, August W. Prash, R.E. Goodding, Lewis C Perry, and Rena Ayers.

On April 6, 1954, a contract was drawn up between Herbert I. and Evelyn R. Sears and the La Plata Cemetery Association. The Cemetery Association purchased a parcel of land from the Sears', 100' wide along the entire west end of the Hastings Addition for the price of $1.00 and other considerations. That parcel is now called the Sears Addition and all lots measure 22'x22'.

Over the years, there have been eight mausoleums built in the cemetery. W.E. Williams built the first mausoleum, with Mrs. Samuel S. Whitsel being buried in it in 1895. In 1913, two mausoleums were built: one by J. B. Goodding and the other by Michael Surbeck. 1924 found two more being built by Hugh Gilbreath and John L. Simmons. Bib Sampson built the sixth mausoleum in the year 1927, and W.T. Gilbreath built one for his family in 1931. The Community Mausoleum was erected in 1959.

The Reynolds Martin Post #282, American Legion, erected a memorial to the fallen World War I veterans of La Plata, in the cemetery on November 11, 1931. Each year on Memorial Day, all known veterans, are honored by the American Legion, with a flag being placed by their stones. The two earliest known war veterans buried in La Plata are Peyton Foster and John S. Saunders, War of 1812. The D.A.R. placed brass markers on their graves on August 16, 1928.